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PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY
Donation of
Samuel Agnew, of Philadelphia
BX 8915 .B67 1848 v 1 I
Boston Thomas, 1677-1732 '
The whole works of the late
Reverend Thomas Boston, of
THE
WHOLE WORKS
LATE REVEREND THOMAS BOSTON
OF ETTEICK;
NOW FIRST COLLECTED, AND REPRINTED WITHOUT
ABRIDGMENT;
INCLUDING
HIS MEMOIRS, WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.
EDITED BY THS
REV. SAMUEL Ivi^MILLAN.
VOL. I.
ABERDEEN:
GEORGE AND ROBERT KING, ST. NICHOLAS STREET.
M.DCCC.XLVIII.
ILLUSTRATION
DOCTRINES
CHEISTIAN RELIGION,
WITH RESPECT TO
FAITH AND PKACTICE,
UPON THE PLAN OP THE ASSEMBLY S
SHORTER CATECHISM ;
COMPREHENDING
A COMPLETE BODY OF DIYINITY.
BY THE
REV. THOMAS BOSTON,
OP ETTRICK.
WITHOUT ABRIDGMENT.
IN TWO VOLUMES,
VOL. I.
Hold fast the form of sound words.— 2 Tim. i. 13.
ABERDEEN:
GEORGE AND ROBERT KING, ST. NICHOLAS STREET.
1848.
CONTENTS OF ¥6t. I.
Page.
OF MAN'S CHIEF END AND HAPPINESS,
1 Cor. X. .31 .— Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye Jo, do all
to the glory of God.
PsAL. Lssiii. 23, 26 -Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none
upon earth that I desire besides thee. My flesh and my heart faileth ; but
God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever, ... ... 9
THE DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES.
2 Tim. hi. 16. — All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 19
THE UTILITY OF THE SCRIPTURES AS A RULE, 37
THE SCOPE OF THE SCRIPTURES.
2 Tim. i. 13 Hold fast the form of sound words — in faith and love, ... 42
THE SCRIPTURES THE BOOK OF THE LORD, AND THE
DILIGENT STUDY AND SEARCH THEREOF
RECOMMENDED.
Isaiah xxxiv. 16 Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read ; no one
of these shall fail, none shall want her mate : for my mouth it hath com-
manded, and his spirit it hath gathered them, ... ... ... ... 56
OF GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS.
John iv. 24 God is a Spirit, ... ... ... ... ... ... 77
OF THE UNITY OF GOD.
Deut. VI. 4. — Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.
1 Cor. VIII. 4. — We know that there is none other God but one.
Compare Jer. x. 10 But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, 131
OF THE HOLY TRINITY.
1 John v. 7 For there are three that bear record iu heaven : the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost ; and these three are one, ... ... ... 142
Tl. CONTENTS.
PAGE.
OF THE DECREES OF GOD.
EpHES. I. 11. — According to the purpose of him who worketh all. things after
the counsel of his own will, ... ... ... ... ... ... 149
OF THE WORK OF CREATION.
Heb. XI. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the
word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which
do appear, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 167
OF THE CREATION OF MAN.
Gen. 1. 27. — So God created man in his own image, in the image of God
created he him : male and female created he them, ... ... ... 177
OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD.
Matth. X. 29. — Are not two "sparrows sold for a farthing ? and one of them
shall not fall on the ground without your Father, ... ... ... 186
THE WISE OBSERVATION OF PROVIDENCES, ILLUS-
TRATED AND ENFORCED.
PsAL. cvii. 43. — Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall
understand the loving kindness of the Lord, ... ... ... ... 193
OF THE COVENANT OF WORKS.
Gen. II, 16, 17. — And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree
of the garden thou rfiayest freely eat ; but of the tree of knowledge of
good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it : for in the day that thou eatest
thereof, thou shalt surely die, ... ... ... ... ... ... 229
OF THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PARENTS.
Gen. III. 6, 7. — And when the woman saw that the tree was good for foodj and
that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,
she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband
with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and
they knew that they were naked : and they sewed fig-leaves together, and
made themselves aprons, ... ... ... ... ... ... 242
OF SIN IN GENERAL.
1 John hi. 4. — Sin is the transgression of the law, ... ... ... 256
OF THE FIRST SIN IN PARTICULAR.
Gen. III. 6, 7. — And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and
that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,
she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband
with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and
they knew that they were naked : and they sewed fig-leaves together, and
made themselves aprons, ... ... ... ... ... ... " ... 267
OF OUR FALL IN ADAM.
Roji. v. 19. — For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners; so
by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous, ... ... 273
CONTENTS. VU.
PAGE.
OF THE SINFULNESS OF MAN'S NATURAL STATE.
PsAL. LI. 5. — Behold I was shapea in iniquity, and in sin did my mother con-
ceive me, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 276
OF THE MISERIES OF MAN'S NATURAL STATE.
Rom. v. 12. — By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; and so
death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned, ... ... ... 293
OF ELECTION TO EVERLASTING LIFE,
Eph. I. 3, 4, 5. — Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
According as he hath chosen us in him, before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy, and without blame before him in love : having pre-
destinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, ac-
cording to the good pleasure of his will, ... ... ... ... 301
OF THE COVENANT OF GR.\CE.
PsAL. Lxx.tix. 3. — I have made a covenant with my chosen.
1 CoR. XV. 45. — The last Adam was made a quickening spirit, ... ... 314
OF CHRIST THE ONLY REDEEMER OF GOD'S ELECT.
Gal. IV. 4, 5. — When the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son
made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the
law, that we might receive the adoption of sons, ... ... ... 375
OF CHRIST'S INCARNATION.
Luke i. 35 The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the
Highest shall overshadow thee ; therefore also that holy thing which shall
^e born of thee shall be called the Son of God, ... ... ... 389
OF CHRIST'S OFFICES IN GENERAL.
Zecu. VI. 13. — Even he shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear
the glory, and shall sit and rule upoa his throne, and he shall be a Priest
upon his throne, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 403
OF CHRIST'S PROPHETICAL OFFICE.
Acts hi. 22. — A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, of your
brethren like unto me : him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall
say unto you, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 41 I
OF CHRIST'S PRIESTLY OFFICE.
Hkb. vii. 17. — Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of JMelchizedec, 437
OF CHRIST'S KINGLY OFFICE.
PsAL. II. 6 Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion, ... 473
OF CHRIST'S HUMILIATION.
PiiiL. II. 8. - He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4!)0
Viii. CONTENTS.
Page.
OF CHRIST'S EXALTATION.
Phil. ii. 9 — 1 1 .—Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him
a name which is above every name : that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the
earth ; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father, ... ... ... ... ... ... 504
OF THE APPLICATION OF REDEMPTION.
Titus hi. 5 He saved us, — by the renewing of the Holy Ghost, ... 529
OF UNION WITH CHRIST,
1 CoR. XII. 13. — For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether
we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been
all made to drink into one Spirit, ... ... ... ... ... 544
OF EFFECTUAL CALLING.
2 TiM. I. 9. — Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not ac-
cording to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, ... ... 557
OF THE BENEFITS OF EFFECTUAL CALLING.
Rom. viii. 30. — Whom he called, them he also justified ; and whom he justified,
them he also glorified, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 576
OF JUSTIFICATION.
RoM. III. 24. — Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 581
OF ADOPTION.
2 Cor. vi. 18. — And I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty, ... ... ... ... C12
THE DIVINE CALL TO LEAVE THE DEVIL'S FAMILY
EXPLAINED AND URGED.
2 CoR. VI. 17, 18. — Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate,
saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing ; and I will receive you,
and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith
the Lord Almighty, 643
OF SANCTIFICATION.
1 Cor. VI. 11 — But ye are sanctified — by the Spirit of our God, ... 653
AN ILLUSTRATION
OP
THE DOCTEINES
THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
OF MAN'S CHIEF END AND HAPPINESS.
1 Cor. X. 31. — Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do,
do all to the glory of God.
Psalm Ixxiii. 25, 26. — Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there
is none upon earth that J desire besides thee. My flesh and my heart
faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
Knowledge is a necessary foundation of faith and holiness; and
where ignorance reigns in the mind, there is confusion in the heart
and life. "We have the word of truth in our hands, and many-
methodical systems of divine truths, amongst which the Shorter
Catechism, composed by the Reverend Assembly of Divines at
"Westminster, in pursuance of the solemn league and covenant, as
a part of the then intended uniformity between the three nations, is
deservedly reckoned the chief. This I shall endeavour to explain
with all possible brevity and perspecuity, that ye may have a view
of those divine truths, with the reasons of them. And this I have
thought it the more necessary to do, in order that your minds may
be established in the truth, as our time is like to be a time of trial,
wherein ye may be exposed, to many snares, and so be in danger of
apostasy.
In the first of the texts which I have read, ye have,
1. The chief end of human actions, the glory of God : that is
the scope of which all we think, or speak, or do, should tend ; this
is the point or common centre, in which all should meet.
10 OF man's chief end.
2. The extent of it. It is not only some of our actions, but all of
them, of what kind soever, that must be directed to this end. This,
then, is man's chief duty.
In the second text we have,
1. The Psalmist's chief desire, and what he points at as his only
true happiness ; that is, the enjoyment of God. He takes God for
and instead of all, that in him alone his soul may rest.
2. The reason of this is taken from, (1.) The creature's emptiness,
both in body and spirit, ver. 25. (2.) From God's fulness and suffi-
ciency : and this is amplified by the eternity of it, my portion for
ever.
From both texts the following doctrine natively follows. Doct.
" Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever."
In handling this doctrine, I shall speak, I. to the glorifying of
God, which is one part of man's chief end.
II. To the enjoyment of God for ever, wherein man's chief hap-
piness consists, and which he is to seek as his chief good.
I. I shall speak to the glorifying of God, which is one part of
man's chief end. And here I shall shew,
1. The nature of glorifying God.
2. In what respects God's glory is man's chief end.
3. The extent of this glorifying God.
4. The reason of it.
First, I shall shew the nature of glorifying God. To glorify, is
either to make glorious, or to declare to be glorious. God glorifies,
i. e. makes angels or men glorious ; but man cannot make God
glorious, for he is not capable of any additional glory, being in him-
self infinitely glorious,. Job xxxv. 7- Hence it is plain, that God
gets no advantage to himself by the best works of men, the profit of
our holiness redounding entirely to ourselves. Acts xvii. 25. Psal.
xvi. 2.
God is glorified, then, only declaratively ; he is glorified when his
glory is declared. This is done two ways. Objectively, by the
creatures inanimate and irrational. Thus the heavens declare the
glory of God, Psal. xix. 1. This the creatures do, while they afford
matter of praise to God, as a violin is fit to make music, though
there must be a hand to play on it ere it can sound. Man declares
his glory also actively. And this he ought to do,
1. By his heart, 1 Cor. vi. 20. Glorify God in your spirit. Hon-
ouring God with the lips, not with the heart, is but a very lame and
unaccept?ible performance. He ought to be glorified by our under-
standing, taking him up in the glory which the scripture reveals
him in, thinking highly of him, and esteeming him above all other
OF man's chief end. 11
persons or things, Psal. Ixxiii. 25. So they that know him not, can
never glorify him : and they that esteem any person or thing more
than, or as much as him, dishonour him. We glorify him by our
wills, chusing him as our portion and chief good, as he really is in
himself; by our affections loving him, and rejoicing and delighting
in him above every other.
2. By his lips, Psal. 1. 23. ' Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me.'
Therefore man's tongue is called his glory, Psal. xvi. 9. not only be-
cause it serves him for speech, which exalts him above the brutes,
but because it is given him as a proper instrument for speaking
forth the glory of God. So that it must needs be a strange pervert-
ing of the tongue, to set it against the heavens, and let it loose to
the dishonour of God, and fetter it as to his glory.
3. By his life. Mat. v. 16. ' Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which
is in heaven.' A holy life is a life of light ; it is a shining light, to
let a blind world see the glory of God. Sin darkens the glory of
God, draws a veil over it. David's sin made the enemies of the
Lord to blaspheme. The study of holiness says, God is holy ;
mourning for every slip says, God is spotless ; walking holily in all
manner of conversation, within and without, &c. says, God is omni-
scient and omnipresent, &c. As when men find a well-ordered
family, that tells what a man the master of it is.
Secondly, I proceed to show in what respects God's glory is
man's chief end.
First, It is man's end,
1. It is the end which God aimed at when he made man. Pro v.
xvi. 4. ' The Lord hath made all things for himself,' Rom. xi. 36.
' For of him, and through him, and to him are all things.' Every
rational agent proposes to himself an end in working, and the most
perfect the highest end. Now God is the most perfect Being, and
his glory the noblest end. God is not actively glorified by all men,
and therefore he surely did not design it ; but he designed to have
glory from them, either by them or on them ; and so it will be.
Happy they who glorify him by their actings, that they may not
glorify him by their eternal sufferings.
2. It is the end of man as God's work. Man was made fit for
glorifying God, Eccl. vii. 29. ' God made man upright ;' as a well-
tuned instrument, or as a house conveniently built, though never in-
habited. The very fabric of a man's body, whereby he looks
upward, while the beasts look down, is a palpable evidence of this.
3. It is that which man should aim at, the mark to which he
should direct all he does, 1 Cor. x. 31, the text. This is what we
b2
12 OF ^AN S CHIEF END.
should continually have in our eye, the grand design we should be
carrying on in the world, Psal. xvi. 8. ' I have set the Lord always
before me,' says David.
Secondly, It is man's chief end, that which God chiefly aimed at,
the chief end of man as God's work, and that which man should
chiefly aim at. God made man for other ends, as to govern, use,
and dispose of other creatures in the earth, sea, and air, wisely,- so-
berly, and mercifully, Gen. i. 26. Man was fitted for these ends,
and a man may propose them lawfully to himself, seeing God has
set them before him ; but still these are but subordinate ends to his
glory.
There are some ends which men propose to themselves, which are
simply unlawful, as to satisfy their revenge, their lust, their covet-
ousness, &c. These are not capable of subordination to the glory of
God, who hates robbery for burnt-offering. But there are other
ends, which are indeed in themselves lawful, yet become sinful, if
they be not set in their due place, that is, subordinate to the glory
of God. Now, God's glory is made our chief end, when these three
things concur.
1. When whatever end we have in our actions, the glory of God
is still one of our ends in acting. We may eat and drink for the
nourishment of our bodies ; but this must not justle out our respect
to the glory of God. If the nourishment of our bodies be the only
end of our eating and drinking, it is sinful, and out of the due order.
2. It must not only be our end, but it must be our main and prin-
cipal end, that which we chiefly design. When God^s glory is our
chief end, all other ends that we propose to ourselves will be down-
weighed by this ; all other sheaves must bow to that sheaf: as a
diligent servant designs to please both the master and his steward,
but chiefly the master. But when, on the contrary, a man eats and
drinks (for instance) more for the nourishment of his body than for
God's glory, it is plain, that God's glory is not the chief end of the
man in that action. Hence we read, 2 Tim. iii. 4. of some that are
' lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.'
3. When it is the ultimate end, the last end, the top and perfec-
tion of what we design, beyond which we have no more view, and to
which all other ends are made subservient, and as means to that
end. Thus we should eat that our bodies may be refreshed ; we
should desire that our bodies may be refreshed, that we may be the
more capable to serve and glorify God in our stations. Thus we
are obliged to seek our own salvation, that God may be glorified ;
and not to seek God's glory only that we may be saved ; for that is
to make the glory of God a stepping-stone to our own safety.
OF man's chief end. 13
Thirdly, I come now to show the extent of this duty. Respect to
the glory of God is as salt that must be served up with every dish.
The great work of our life is to glorify him ; it is the end of our
first and of our second creation, Isa. xliii. 21. ' This people hare I
formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.' We must be
for God, Hos. iii. 3. and live to him. This must be the end.
1. Of our natural actions, 1 Cor. x. 31. eating, sleeping, walking,
&c. we are under a law as to these things. We may not eat and
drink as we please, more than pray as we please, Zech. vii. 6. All
these things must be done in subserviency to the glory of God.
These things must be done that we may live, and living may glorify
God ; and when we can do it without them in heaven, then none of
these things shall be done.
2. Of our civil actions, working our work, buying and selling,
&c. Eph. vi. 7. Prov. xxi. 4. It was one of the sins of the old
world, that they were eating ; the word is properly used of beasts
eating their food : they had no higher end in it than beasts ; and
marrying, a thiW in itself lawful, but they had no eye to God in it.
3. Of our mor^^ and religious actions, Zech. vii. 5. We must
pray, hear, &c. for God's glory.
This is such a necessary ingredient in our actions, that none of
them are truly good and acceptable to God without it, Zech. vii. 5.
Do what we will, it cannot be service to God, if we do not make
him our end ; no more than a servant's working to himself is ser-
vice to his master. God will never be the rewarder of a work,
whereof he is not the end ; for if a man should build houses to all
the country, if he build not one to me, I owe him nothing. Alas !
to what purpose serves a generation of good works all killed by a
depraved end ?
Though it is a duty frequently to have a formal and express in-
tention of the glory of God in our actings, yet to have it in every
action is impossible : neither are we bound to it ; for then, for that
very intention we should be obliged to have another, another for
that, and another for that, in infinitum. But we should always
habitually and interpretatively design the glory of God. And that
is done when, (1.) The course of our lives is directed to the glory of
God, Psal. 1. ult. (2.) When we walk according to the rule of
God's word, taking heed that we swerve not in any thing from it.
And, (3.) When God's will is the reason as well as the rule of our
actions ; when we believe a truth, because God has said it ; and do
a duty, because God has. commanded it. If we do not so, God loses
his glory, and we lose our labour.
Fourthly, The reason of the point is, because he is the first prin-
b3
14 OF man's chief end.
«iple, therefore he must be the last end. He is the first and the
last, the Alpha, and therefore the Omega. Grod is the fountain of
our being ; and therefore seeing we are of him, we should be to him,
Rom. xi. ult. forecited. Man is a mere relative being ; God is our
Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor. Our being is but a borrowed
being from him, as the rays or beams of the sun are borrowed from
the sun : therefore I AM is God's name. Whatever perfection we
have is from him ; hence he is called ' the only wise, none good but
one, that is God :' he gives us the continuance of all these things,
and it is on his cost that we live. As when the waters come from
the sea unto the earth, and go back again unto it by brooks and
rivers ; so all we receive and enjoy comes from God, and ought to
go back again to him, by being used for his glory. Wherefore to
make ourselves our chief end, is to make ourselves a god to our-
selves ; for a creature to be a centre to itself, and that God- should
be a means to that end, is to blaspheme, John viii. 50.
II. I shall speak to the enjoyment of God for ever, wherein man's
chief happiness consists, and which he is to seek as his chief good.
Here I shall show,
1. The nature of this enjoyment.
2. The order of it.
3. That it is man's chief end in point of happiness.
First, I shall shew the nature of this enjoyment. There is a
twofold enjoyment of God, imperfect and perfect.
First, There is an imperfect enjoyment of God in this life ; which
consists in two things.
1. In union with him, or a special saving interest in him, whereby
God is their God by covenant. By this union Christ and believers
are so joined, that they are one spirit, one mystical body. The
whole man, soul and body, is united to him, and, through the Me-
diator, unto God. This is the foundation of all saving enjoyment
of God.
2. In communion with God, which is a participation of the bene-
fits of that saving relation, whereof the soul makes returns to the
Lord in the exercise of its graces, particularly of faith and love.
This is had in the duties of religion, prayer, meditation, &c. in
which the Lord privileges his people with manifestations of his
grace, favour, and love, bestows on them the influences of his Spirit,
gives them many tokens of his kindness, and fills them with joy and
peace in believing.
Secondly, There is a perfect enjoyment of God in heaven, when
this world is no more. This consists in,
1. An intimate presence with him in glory Psal. xvi. 11, ' In his
OF man's chief end. 15
presence is fulness of joy, and at his right hand there are pleasures
for evermore.' Grod himself shall be with them, and they shall ever
be with the Lord, enjoying his glorious presence, brought near to
his throne, and standing before him, where he shews his incon-
ceivable glory.
2. In seeing him as he is, 1 John iii. 2. They shall have a full,
a satisfying, and never-ending sight of Grod, and of all his glorious
perfections and excellencies, and they shall be ravished with the
view thereof for ever.
3. In a perfect union with him, Rev. xxi. 3. He will be their
God. They were united to God in Christ here by the Spirit and
faith, and made partakers of a divine nature, but then only in part ;
but in heaven they shall perfectly partake of it. There shall be a
most close and intimate union between God and them : God shall be
in them, and they in God, in the way of a glorious and most perfect
union, never to be dissolved.
4. In an immediate, full, free, and comfortable communion with
him, iniinitely superior to all the communion they ever had with
him in this world, and which no mortal can suitably describe.
5. Lastly, In full joy and satisfaction resulting from these things
for ever, Mat. xxv. 21. The presence and enjoyment of God and
the Lamb, shall satisfy them with pleasures for evermore. They
shall swim for ever in an ocean of joy, and every object they see
shall fill them with the most ecstatic joy, which shall be ever fresh
and new to them, through all the ages of eternity.*
Secondly, Let us consider the order of this enjoyment.
1. It is a part of man's chief end, and, in conjunction with glo-
rifying of God, makes it up. And these two are put together,
because no man can glorify God, but he that takes God for his chief
good and supreme happiness.
2. Glorifying of God is put before the enjoying of him, because
the way of duty is the way to the enjoyment of God. Holiness on
earth must necessarily go before felicity in heaven, Heb. xii. 14.
There is an inseparable connexion betwixt the two, as between the
end and the means ; so that no person who does not glorify God
here, shall ever enjoy him hereafter. The connexion is instituted
by God himself, so that the one can never be attained without the
other. Let no person, then, who has no regard for the glory and
honour of God in this world, dream that he shall be crowned with
glory, honour, immortality, and eternal life, in the heavenly man-
* The reader may see a more full account of the happiness of the saints in heaven,
in the author's book, Fourfold State, state 4, head 6, Vol.
16 OF man's chief ekd.
sions. No ; the pure in heart, and they who glorify God now, shall
alone see God, to their infinite joy in heaven.
Thirdly, I shall shew, that the enjoyment of God is man's chief
end in point of happiness, the thing that he should chiefly seek.
For this end,
1. Consider what man is. ^e is, (1.) A creature that desires
happiness, and cannot but desire it. The desire of happiness is
woven into his nature, and cannot be eradicated. It is as natural
for him to desire it as it is to breathe. (2.) He is not self-sufficient :
h6 is conscious to himself that he wants many things, and therefore
he is ever seeking something without himself' in order to be happy.
(3.) Nothing but an infinite good can fully satisfy the desires of an
immortal soul : because, whatever good he finds in the creature, he
can still desire more, and will continue to desire it ; and where it is
not to be found, there his happiness is marred. So that man's
happiness is neither to be found in himself nor in any creature, or
created good.
2. Consider what God is.
1st, God is the chief good. Some persons, as angels, &c. and
some things, as grace, glory, &c. are good ; but God is the chief
good, for he is the fountain good, and the water that is good is
always best in the fountain. All other goodness is but second-hand
goodness, derived and dependant ; but God is original, underived,
and independent goodness, the cause and source of whatever is good
in heaven and earth. Now, where the more goodness is, there the
more it is to be sought. And therefore, seeing God is the chief
good, the enjoyment of him is the chief end which man should aim
at in seeking.
2dli/, God is all good. (1,) There is nothing in hira but what is
good ; he is entirely without imperfection. (2.) All that is good is
in him ; so that the soul, finding him commensurate to its desires,
needs nothing besides him ; and therefore should not, and cannot,
fully rest in any person or thing but God, who alone is able to
satisfy all its desires, and afl^ord it that happiness which it earnestly
pants after.
I shall conclude with a few inferences.
1. 0 how does reigning sin pervert the spirit of man, turning it
quite away from its chief end ! How many are there who make
themselves their chief end ! They are conjured within the circle of
self, and out of it they cannot move. Like beasts they grovel on
the ground, seeking themselves, and acting for themselves only or
chiefly, pursuing the enjoyment of earthly things ; but look not to
God, Phil. iii. 19. Their own advantage is the chief motive and
OF man's chief end. 17
aim they have in their natural, civil, and religious actions, either
their own pleasure, profit, or honour and glory. And they never
think of, never propose the glory and honour of the infinite Majesty
of heaven in any thing they do.
2. This may fill the best with shame and blushing. 0 how much
is God dishonoured by our hearts, lips, and lives ! 0 what self-
seeking mixes itself with our best actions ! How eagerly do we pur-
sue created things, and how faintly the enjoyment of God ! How
absurd is such conduct ! and how dishonourable to a holy God ! It
is a saying upon the matter, that God is not the chief good, that he
is not a suitable portion for the soul, and that the creature is better
than God. How should we be ashamed of ourselves on this account,
and labour earnestly to make God the chief and ultimate end of all
our actions, and the enjoyment of him our chief happiness !
3. Behold the excellency of man above other creatures on earth !
He is made for a noble end, to glorify and enjoy God, while other
creatures were made for him. How sad is it, that men should thus
forget their dignity, and turn slaves to those creatures which were
made to serve them ! And how deplorable and lamentable is it,
that men, in place of making God their ultimate end, and placing
their chief happiness in him, should make their belly, their lusts
and idols, their God, and place their chief felicity in the gratifica-
tion of sensual and brutish pleasures ; as the drunkard does in his
bottle, the unclean person in his whore, the miser in his wealth, and
the ambitious man in titles of honour. Alas ! our hearts by nature
are set on the earth that we tread upon, and our desires reach up
to those things that we should make stepping-stones of. Let us
earnestly implore divine grace to cure this disorder of our hearts,
and give them a bias to more excellent things, and the enjoyment of
that which will survive the grave, and not perish with the wrecks of
time, and the dissolution of the world.
4. The soul of man is immortal, seeing to enjoy God for ever is
its ultimate and supreme happiness. God is immortal, and so must
the soul be too, which can never be satisfied but in this never-dying
being. The body too must rise again, seeing God is the God and
portion of the whole man. Now, God is not the God of the dead,
but of the living. Can that thinking and immaterial substance
which eagerly desires happiness, and can find it no where but in the
immortal God, perish with the body, and all its thoughts and desires
be extinguished in the grave ? No ; its chief happiness will subsist
for ever, and so will thfe soul too. And both soul and body, which
were united to God here, shall continue to be united to him for ever,
after the resurrection. Let us then seek to be united to God here,
that we may be happy with and in him for ever.
13 OF man's chief end.
5. When God and the creature come in competition, we must
renounce the creature, and cleave to God only, Luke xiv. 33. God
is the chief good, and to glorify and adhere to him at all times, and
in all cases, and amidst all trials, is our great duty, a duty abso-
lutely required of us. If we are reduced to that dilemma, that we
must either give up with the creature, or any worldly goods or
possessions, or even life itself, or give up with and deny God and
his cause, we must give up with and abandon the former, and not
prefer them to the glory of God, which we ought always to study as
onr main end, and account our chief happiness and joy.
6. Here is a rule to try doctrines by, and also practices. What-
ever doctrine tends to glorify God, and promote his honour in the
world, is certainly from God, and is to be embraced. Alid whatever
practices have that same tendency, they are good, and deserve to be
imitated. Whereas any doctrine that tends to dishonour God, to
rob him of his glory, and set the crown upon the creature's head, to
depreciate the free grace of God, exalt the power of nature and of
free-will, in opposition to the efficacious and irresistible grace of
God, as the doctrines of the Pelagians, Papists, Arminians, and
others do, is not from God. Neither is any doctrine or opinion that
robs the Son of God of his essential dignity, supremacy, indepen-
dency, and equality with the Father, to be received, because it is
not of God, who will have all men to honpur the Son even as they
honour the Father.
Lastly, Let this then be your main and chief work, to glorify
God, and to seek to enjoy him. And hence see the absolute need of
Christ, and faith in hira ; for there is no glorifying of the Father
without the Son, 1 John ii. 23. and no enjoying of God, but through
him. No sacrifice is or can be accepted, unless offered upon this
altar ; and there is no coming into the chamber of presence, but as
introduced by Christ.
THE DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTUBES. 19
THE DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES.
2 Tim. iii. 16. — All scnpture is given hy inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness.
The next head which falls to he touched is the holy scripture, the
rule which God has given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy
him. We are poor hlind creatures, that know not our way, neither
how we should glorify God, nor how we may come to the enjoyment
of him. Therefore God hath given us the revelation of his mind in
that great point. The connexion betwixt this and the preceding
question is abundantly obvious ; the one points out the end for
which we were made, the other the rule to direct us how to attain to
that end. And in this text we have two things.
1. The divine authority of the scriptures asserted. All scripture
is given hy inspiration of God. The word scripture signifies writing in
general ; but here it is appropriated to the holy scripture. It prin-
cipally here aims at the scriptures of the Old Testament, which
were written by men of a prophetic spirit : but seeing the New
Testament was written by such as were endowed with the same
Spirit for writing, upon that reason, what is applied to the Old
belongs also to the New Testament. It is said to be of divine
inspiration, because the writers were inspired by the Spirit, who
guided their hearts and pens ; he dictated, and they wrote ; so that
it is his word and not theirs ; and that is extended to the whole
scriptures.
2. The use and end of the scriptures : It is prof,table for doctrine,
&c. If ye desire to know the truths of religion, or what we believe,
the scripture is profitable for doctrine, teaching us what we are to be-
lieve concerning God, Christ, and ourselves, and the great things
that concern salvation. If ye want to refute the contrary errors, it
is prof table for reproof, to convince us of the nature and importance
of divine truth and point out what errors we are to avoid. If ye
desire to amend your life and practice, casting ofi" sinful practices, it
is profitable for correction, that is, for reformation of manners. If ye
want to know what is duty, and what is sin, it is necessary /or in-
struction and righteousness ; shewing us how to lead a holy and righte-
ous life before God, and instructing us in the true righteousness,
which is the foundation of our access to God, and acceptance with
him, the righteousness of Christ. And what more is necessary for
salvation, for faith and obedience, for the whole of salvation ?
20 THE DIVINE AUTHORITY
Two doctrines offer themselves from the words, viz.
DocT. I. ' The scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the
word of God.'
DocT. II. * The scriptures are the rule to direct us how we may
glorify and enjoy God,'
I shall prosecute each doctrine in order.
DocT. I. ' The scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the
word of God.'
Here I shall shew,
I. What is meant by the Old and New Testament.
II. What are the scriptures of the Old and New Testament.
III. The necessity of the scriptures.
IV. That the scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the
word of God.
V. Deduce some inferences.
I. I shall shew what is meant by the Old and New Testament. It
is the covenant of grace which is called a testmnent, and it is properly
a testamentary covenant, without any proper conditions as to us,
Heb. viii. 10. " This is the covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel after those days, saith tlie Lord ; I will put my laws into
their mind, and write them in their hearts : and I will be to them a
God, and they shall be to me a people." Christ is the testator ; he
made the testament, and confirmed it with his death. The spirit of
Christ drew the testament, dictating it to the holy penman. This
testament of Christ's is one and the same as to substance, though
sometimes more clearly revealed than at other times. The Old
Testament is the more obscure draught of Christ's will, and the New
Testament is the more clear one. Thus they only differ in circum-
stances, while the substantial of both are one and the same ; one
Mediator and testator, one legacy or promise of remission of sin and
eternal life, and one faith as the way of obtaining it*.
II. I proceed to shew what are the scriptures of the Old and New
Testament. The scriptures of the Old Testament are those which
begin with Genesis, and end with Malachi; and the scriptures of the
New Testament are those which begin with Matthew, and end with
the Revelation. And it is worthy of our special remark, how the
Old Testament and the New, like the cherubims in the most holy
place, stretch forth their wings touching one another ; the Old Tes-
tament ending with the prophecy of sending Christ and John the
Baptist Mai. iv. and the New beginning with the history of the
coming of these two.
* See more on this subject in the author's View of the Covenant of Grace, head 4.
title, Christ the Testator of the Covenant.
OF THE SCRIPTURES. 21
The books of the Old Testament were divided by the Hebrews
into three, the law, the Prophets, and Ketubim, written books. The
law contains the five books of Moses, the Prophets are twofold, for-
mer and latter. The former are the historical books of the Old
Testament, as Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2
Kings ; and they were so called, because they told things already
done. The latter related things before they were done ; and are of
two sorts ; the greater, which are three, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and
Ezekiel ; the lesser twelve, viz. Hosea, Joel, &c. The written books
were called so, because they were written by such as had the gift of
the Holy Spirit, as the Hebrews speak, but not of prophecy. And
of that sort are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, 2
Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Daniel. The Hebrews
ascribe this division of them to Ezra ; and it seems our Lord Jesus
Christ acknowledged the same, while he tells his disciples, Luke
xxiv. 44. of the writings of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.
The books of the New Testament are divided into three sorts,
Histories, the Four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles,
and the Revelation, which is prophetic.
The books of both the Testaments were written by different au-
thors. As to the Old Testament, Moses wrote the Pentateuch ; only
some verses in the end of Deuteronomy, where Moses' death is re-
corded, could not be written by him, but are said to have been written
by Joshua ; who also wrote the book that bears his name ; or, accord-
ing to the opinion of some, it was written by Eleazar, Aaron's son.
Samuel is supposed to have written the book of Judges, and, it would
appear, the last part of the book of Joshua, containing the account
of the death of Joshua and Eleazar : Some think that the Judges did
write every one the history of their own time ; and that Samuel at
last did put them all into one volume. The book of Ruth also was
written by him, as the Hebrews tell. He wrote also the first book
bearing his name, to the 25th chapter, where his death is narrated.
The rest of the chapters of that book, and the whole of the second
book, are said to have been written by David. The books of the
Kings are supposed to be written by David and Solomon, and other
prophets that lived in these times ; so that each of them did write
what was done in his own time. Job is supposed to have written
the book that bears his name. David wrote the Psalms, but not all :
such as are not his have the author's name prefixed ; as Asaph,
Heman, &c. : and they were all by Ezra collected into one volume.
Ezra is said to have written the books of Chronicles, Ezra, and Ne-
hemiah ; Mordecai, that of Esther ; and Solomon, the Proverbs, Ec-
clesiastes, and Canticles. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the other prophets,
22 THE DIVINE ADTHORITT
•wrote every one their own prophecies, containing a short sum of
their sermons.
As for the books of the New Testament, without controversy the
evangelists wrote the Gospels, according a,s their names are prefixed
to them. Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles ; and the remaining
books, the Epistles and the Revelation, were written by those whose
names they bear. Only, as to the Epistle to the Hebrews, there has
been some doubt, some ascribing it to Luke, some to Barnabas,
others to Apollos, and others to Clemens : but many learned men
have given good reasons to prove it to be written by the apostle Paul.
But the principal author is the Holy Spirit, whence the scripture
is called the Word of God. The penmen were but the instruments
in the hand of God in writing the same. It was the Spirit that dic-
tated them, that inspired the writers, and guided them. But the
inspiration was not the same in all points to all the penmen ; for
some things were before utterly unknown to the writer, as the his-
tory of the creation of the world to Moses ; the prediction of future
events in respect of the prophets ; which therefore the Spirit did im-
mediately reveal to them : Other things were known to the writers
before, as the history of Christ to the four evangelists, &c. ; in res-
pect of these there need no new revelation, but a divine irradiation
of the mind of the writer, giving him a divine certainty of those
things which he wrote. By this inspiration all of them were infal-
libly guided, so as they were put beyond all possibility of erring.
And this inspiration was extended not only to the things themselves
expressed, but to the words wherein they were expressed, though
agreeable to the natural style and ilianner of each writer, 2 Pet. i. 21 ;
Psal. xlv. 1. Upon this account the scripture is attributed to the
Holy Spirit, without making any mention of the penmen, Heb. x. 15.
Quest. But what opinion are we to form of the books called Apo-
crypha, And why are they so called ?
Answ. These books, which are found placed in some bibles betwixt
Malachi and Matthew are called Apocrypha, which is a Greek word,
signifying hidden or absconded. The reasons of this name are given
thus (1.) Because they were not'acknowleged by the church to be of
divine inspiration, (2.) Because the names of the authors were hid.
(3.) Because they contain some things unknown to Moses, the pro-
phets and apostles. (4.) Because, for the foresaid reasons, they were
judged unworthy to be publicly read in the church. Concerning
these books, we believe that they are not of divine inspiration, and
therefore no part of the canon of scripture ; that is, they are not to
be admitted as any part of the rule of faith and manners : and there-
fore they are of no authority in the church of God for the determin-
OF THE SCBIFTUEES. 23
ing of controversies in religion ; and so, though they may be of use
as other human writings, y«t they are n.o otherwise to be made use
of nor approved. The reasons are,
1. They were not actnowledged by the, church of the Jews for
canonical : to whom the Apostle tells us, Rom. iii. 2. ' the oracles
of God,' under the Old Testament dispensation 'were committed.'
They even forbade their childreir to read them till they came to
mature age.
2. They were not written in the Hebrew tongue, but in the
Greek ; and the authors of them were posterior to Malachi, who was
the last of the prophets, according to the saying of the Hebrews,
that the Holy Ghost went up from Israel after the death of Haggai,
Zecharikh, and Malachi. And 1 Mac. iv. 46. plainly shews, that
there was no prophet among them, to shew them what they should
do with the stones of the polluted altar. And it may clearly ap-
pear to any unbiassed person, how the interposing of these books
betwixt Malachi and Matthew does cut off the beautiful connexion
betwixt the end of the Old and the beginning of the New Testa-
ment, and how Malachi's prophecy is designed of God to close up
the scriptures of the Old Testament, in that he prophecies most dis-
tinctly of the coming of Christ, and John the Baptist his forerunner,
with the accomplishment of which Matthew begins his gospel, as I
observed before.
3. The primitive church for the first four centuries received not
these books ; and when they came to be read, the reader stood
but in an inferior place, they being then read as profitable books,
though not of divine authority.
4. They are no where cited by Christ and his apostles. Yea,
they are not obscurely rejected by him, while he divides the scrip-
tures into Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, Luke xxiv. 44.
And whereas the Apostle tells us, that ' prophecy came not of old
by the will of man, but that holy men spake as they were moved by
the Holy Ghost,' 2 Pet. i. 21. the authors of these books pretend to
no such thing. The author of Ecclesiasticus in the prologue in-
treats the reader to pardon them, [viz. him and his grandfather),
wherein they may seem to come short of some words which they
have laboured to interpret. Such an apology is there, 2 Mac. xv.
38. ' If I have done well, it is that which I desired ; but if slenderly
and meanly, it is that which I could attain unto.' 2 Mac. ii. 23. the
author tells us, he will essay to abridge in one volume the five
books of Jason of Cyrene. Ver. 26. he tells how he hath taken on
him the painful labour of abridging ; that it was a matter of sweat
and watching to him: And ver. 27. 'But for the pleasuring of
24 THE DIVINE AUTHORITY
many,' says he, ' we will undertake this great pains.' And more
of this stnff has he there ; which plainjiy speaks forth nothing else
than hninan learning and pains, which men desire to have much
accounted of amongst others.
Lastly, They neither agree with themselves nor the holy scrip-
tures, as may plainly appear to those who will consider them dili-
gently. 1 Mac. vi. 16. compared with ver. 4. it is said, that
Antiochus died at Babylon. Yet 2 Mac. i. 13, 14, 15, 16. it is said,
that when he was come into Persia, he was slain in the temple of
Nanea, whom he pretended that he would marry, and would receive
money in name of dowry, by her priests. Yea, 2 Mac. ix. 28. he is
said to have died in a strange country in the mountains. The book
of Tobit is stuffed with absurd stories ; it makes the angel Raphael
to tell a lie, and to teach Tobit's son a devilish art, to drive away
the devil with the heart and liver of a fish; and when the evil
spirit smelled the smell, he fled into the utmost parts of Egypt, &c.
The author of the history of the Maccabees commends Rasis for self-
murder, and prayer for the dead, 2 Mac. xii. 44, 45. These things
plainly shew, that these books are not from the Spirit of God.
All this shews the darkness of Popery that receives these books
as canonical, and the dregs remaining in the church of England,
who, though they 4o not receive them for canonical, yet mix the
reading of portions of them in their churches with the scriptures,
while in the mean time, several portions of the holy scripture are
passed over, and not read publicly in their service. And whilst we
blame the church of England for reading in her service books that
are not canonical, impartiality obliges us to say, that far too small
a portion of the books that are canonical is read in the public ser-
vice of our own church. This is equally culpable.
And as there is none of these to be admitted into the canon, so
neither can we gratify the Papists with yielding, that there are any
books of the scripture lost, lest we reflect on the providence of God,
that to a miracle has preserved these books to this day, and has
insured the preservation of far less parts than whole books, Mat.
V. 18.
III. I proceed to shew the necessity of the scriptures.
1. There was a necessity of the revelation of the doctrine of the
scriptures. For though the light of nature, and the works of
creation and providence, do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom
and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable, Rom. i. 20. and ii.
14, 15. yet they are not sufficient to shew us either how we should
glorify, or how we may enjoy God, and so are not sufficient to give
that knowledge of God, and of his will, that is necessary to salva-
OP THE SCRIPTURES. 25
tion. For (1.) There is no salvation out of Christ, Acts iv. 12. 1
Cor. iii. 11. there is no salvation through him but by faith, Mark
xvi. 16. John iii. 16. and xvii. 3. and there can be no faith nor
knowledge of Christ but by revelation, Rom. x. 14, — 17- (2.) They
who have only nature's light, and so do not enjoy divine revelation,
are without Grod, and have no hope, Eph. ii. 12. ; and therefore
there was a necessity for preaching the gospel, 1 Cor. i. 21. (3.)
Wliatever knowledge men may attain to of God by nature, yet
saving illumination and conversion can only be got by the revealed
will of God written in his word. See Psal. xix. throughout.
2. There is a necessity of the scriptures, or written word, though
the Papists whose kingdom is supported by darkness, deny it. It is
true, Ood did teach his church a long time before Moses without
the written word ; but then the same doctrine that we have in the
scriptures, the patriarchs had by extraordinary revelation often
repeated ; and their long lives gave them opportunity to keep what,
was so revealed uncorrupted, and so to hand it down to others.
But now both these are gpne, and therefore the written word is
necessary, (1.) For preserving the doctrine from corruption in such
times of apostasy, 2 Pet. iii. 1. (2.) For the better propagating of
the truth. Matt, xxviii. 19. The apostles could not with their voice
teach all nations, but by their writings they could. (3.) If the
written word were wanting, the church has nothing to look to but
uncertain traditions ; but the written word is a sure touchstone of
doctrines, Isa. viii. 20. a light in a dark place, 2 Pet. i. 19. both of
which are most necessary.
3. There is a necessity of it not only for beginners, but for those
who are more perfect. The scripture is written for all indifferently,
Col. iii. 16. Even the most perfect will find enough there, and
more than they are able for : ' Open thou mine eyes,' says David,
* that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law,' Psal. cxix. 18.
It is but the blindness of enthusiasts to pretend, that it is only for
the weaker, and that the more perfect must follow the Spirit : for if
that Spirit teach any thing contrary to the written word, it is a
spirit of darkness, Isa. viii. 20. ; yea, if it teach another doctrine,
an anathema is pronounced against it, Gal. i. 8.
Thus it plainly appears, that nothing short of scripture-revelation
is sufficient to salvation, and that in an objective way ; that is, that
it is a sufficient rule to lead men to salvation. But something else
is requisite to make this rule effectual for that end. No skill or
wisdom of men representing them in the clearest point of view, nor
all the power of the most elaborate and persuasive reasonings, can
produce this effect. This work is the province of the Spirit of
0
26' Till': 1)1 V INK AUTIIUUITY
God, wliicli he accomplishes by an internal illumination of the mind,
giving blinded sinners a saving discovery of divine trutlis ; by
powerfully subduing man's obstinate will, and enabling it cheerfully
and readily to obey the will of God and the authority of Christ ;
and by working upon our affections, exciting in us ardent desires
after God and Christ, and a high esteem of divine truth, and re-
moving the prejudices in our minds against it, and opening our
hearts to receive the word, and comply with the design thereof.
IV. I shall next shew that the scriptures of the Old and New
Testament are the word of God. Christ is God's personal word,
but the scriptures are his Avritten word, Hos. i. 2.
The scriptures appear to be the word of God, if we consider,
1. The antiquity of some parts of them, which are more ancient
than any human writings, and give us such an history as none but
God himself could do, viz. the creation of the world ; for how could
men tell what was done before man had a being ?
2. The preservation of it to this day, notwithstanding the malice
of devils and wicked men against it. If it had not been of God, it
could not have continued till now, considering the attempts that
have been made to destroy it.
3. The candour and sincerity of the penmen of these sacred
writings, who honestly declare what they delivered was received
from God, plainly tell their own faults as well as those of others,
and every way write as men over-ruled by the Spirit of God.
4. The exact performance of scripture-prophecies. Isaiah pro-
phesied that Cyrus should deliver the Jews from the Babylonish
captivity, not only before that captivity took place, but more than
an hundred years before that prince was born. Jeremiah, a little
before that captivity, foretold it should last seventy years, and that
was the precise duration of it. How remarkably have all the pro-
phecies relating to the fall of the Babylonish, Persian, Grecian, and
Roman monarchies been fulfilled ! And what an exact accomplish-
ment has there been of the several prophecies relating to the birth
and death of Christ, and the spreading of his kingdom in the world !
The scripture contains many other prophecies which time has shewn
exactly performed, and many that are yet to be fulfilled.
5. The blood of many martyrs hath confirmed the divinity of this
book, while they joyfully laid down their lives for the truth of it ;
in which it is evident they were carried up above what human
power could do.
6. The scriptures have been confirmed by incontrovertible mira-
cles. All miracles are Avrought by God himself; and it is incon-
sistent with his holy nature to work miracles for confirming a lie
OF THE Si'lJU'TUUES. 27
or a cheat. Many miracles were wrought by Moses, by Christ, and
by his apostles. If then these miracles were done by them, the
doctrine they taught was true. Now, we have all rational grounds
to suppose, that these miracles were really wrought. It is certain,-
that the general consent of those who have heard of them goes that
way. Now, if it be supposed a cheat that such things were done,
then that cheat took place either among those who were said to
have seen them, and were witnesses to them or else among those
who lived after that generation which is said to have seen them was
dead and gone. But neither of these two can be said here. Not
the first, for two reasons. (1.) Because these miracles were such
things as men's outward senses (their eyes and ears) could be judges
of. (2.) They are said to be done, not in a corner, but in the face
of the world. Tlierefore it was impossible that that generation
could be imposed upon. If a man should say, that yesterday he
divided the river Tweed in pi'esence of us all, and brought ns all
through on dry land, it would be impossible for him to make us
believe it, for we saw no such thing, nor waded so through that
river. Or if he should say, that he came to the church-yard, and
raised a dead man in our presence, whom we now see among us, he
could never cause us believe it, nor cheat us into a persuasion of the
same. Neither could any in after generations invent such a story,
and impose the cheat Tipon others. (1.) Because there are some
things done in memory of these miracles. (2.) Such observances
did commence from the time that such things were done, as circum-
cision, the passover, baptism, and the Lord's Supper. If then the
forger would impose it on otliers, he mast make them believe, that
these observances have been constantly in use since that time,
which, if they were not, could not be believed, because it contradicts
the senses : for it would be impossible to make a nation believe that
they were all circumcised or baptized, when there was no such
thing ; and especially that such things were done to them in me-
mory of such a thing as tliey never heard of.
7. The scriptures must either be from God, or the creature.
They cannot be from the creature ; for if so, they must be from
angels or men. Neither of these can be said. Not the first; for
then they should either be from good angels or evil angels. From
good angels they cannot be, in regard, they say, they are the word
of God, and this would be a most gross cheat which cannot be
attributed to good angels ; for angels imposing such a cheat on the
world could no more be looked on as good, but as evil. With what
shadow of reason can it be imagined, that good angels, remaining
so, should abuse the name of God, as to speak in his name, wliat he
28 THE DIVINE AUTHORITY
never said ? Evil angels it cannot be either, in regard the scrip-
ture doth natively tend to overturn the devil's kingdom; it pro-
nounces their doom, discovers their malicious designs, brings men
out of their service, and from doing what is pleasing to them. The
same way may we reason concerning good or bad men their being
the principal authors of the scriptures. And you know what tor-
ment the scripture assigns to liars. It remains then that the scrip-
ture is of divine inspiration.
Besides, such things are found in the scripture themselves, as do
plainly demonstrate they are the word of God. As,
1. The heavenliness of the matter of the scripture, shews it to be
of a divine origin. Therefore they are called the holy scriptures,
Rom. i. 2. See Psal. xii. 6. Nothing carnal or earthly is delivered
therein, but all is what becomes those who live above the world, and
shall shine in glory. I take this heavenliness of the matter to
respect two things. (1.) The sublime mysteries therein revealed,
which nature ever so much elevated could never attain to the dis-
covery of. Such is the doctrine of the Trinity, the incarnation of
the Son of God, and the spiritual union betwixt Christ and be-
lievers. The light of nature improved by the learned to the utmost
advantage, could not teach these things; yet a few fishermen plainly
delivered them. (2.) The most exact holiness of its precepts, com-
manding all holiness, and forbidding all impurity of heart and life
under the pain of damnation ; and that so universally, as all the
writings of philosophers have come far short of. Here we are
taught to love our enemies, to be truly and thoroughly humble and
self-denied; and this urged by such arguments as may be most
effectual for inciting men to the practice of these duties. Sure this
could neither be the work of men, being so opposite to corrupt
nature, nor of devils being so opposite to their kingdom and in-
terest, but of that God who is holy, and loveth righteousness.
2. The efficacy of the doctrine, in its convincing and searching the
conscience, Heb. iv. 12. ; converting the soul from its most beloved
lusts, even when nothing can be expected from the world for such
a change but the cross, Psal. xix. 7. ; rejoicing the heart under the
deepest distresses, ver. 8. This efficacy lies not in the bare words,
letters, or syllables, which have no other power than to signify the
things ; but it is the ordinary means which the Spirit makes use of
for these ends, without which it will be but a dead letter.
3. The majesty and sublimity of the style, an elevated and grand
diction which runs through many passages of the scriptures, particu-
larly in the books of Moses, some parts of the Psalms, in the book
of Job, and the writings of the prophets. There are in several pas-
OF THE SCRIPTURES. 29
sages of the Old Testament such a loftiness of style, so grand an
assemblage of bold images and representations, such a collection of
noble and majestic sentiments, and so mxich magnificence and pomp
of language, as cannot be found in any human writings whatever.
There is something so truly majestic and sublime, so grand and
magnificent in the style of the sacred writings, as has forced hea-
then philosophers to acknowledge it, and select passages therefrom
as instances-of the true sublime ; as does Longinus with regard to
the words of God, Let there he, and some other passages. At the
same time let it be observed, that there is nothing atfected, no
flights of false eloquence, no exertions of a luxuriant genius, no
laboured strokes of a warm imagination, no forced images, no dis-
torted metaphors, no quaint allusions, or unnatural comparisons
which are frequently found in the most admired productions of
ancient and modern writers; but the utmost plainness and per-
spicuity, a noble simplicity, and an elegant familiarity, level to
the capacity of the illiterate, reign throughout the sacred volume.
So that its style must engage the attention and regard of the
learned philosopher and poet, and delight the unlearned peasant.
Thus God is frequently brought in speaking to and by the prophets,
and his majesty set forth in a majestic style, as Is. Ivii. 15. 'Thus
saith the high and lofty One, that inhabiteth eternity, whose name
is holy,' &c. There is no affectation of words there, being below
the majesty of the divine law : none are spared, but the scripture
speaks as freely and plainly to the great as to the small, to the
rich as to the poor.
4. The consent of all the parts of scripture ; though written by
several hands, and at different times, yet all of them so agreeing in
their precepts, narratives of matters of fact, and designs, that there
is no irreconcileable difference to be found amongst them. But here
the Socinians call us to consider this point at more length ; for they
say that there is some repugnancy in the scriptures in some things
of little or no moment, and that not a seeming but real repugnancy.
But we believe that in nothing does one holy writer differ from
another in the scriptures, but that such things as seem to be repug-
nant do in themselves most exactly agree. This principle I shall
endeavour to prove.
(1.) There are no things in the Scriptures of little or no moment;
and if so, the writers could not err in them. That there are no
such things in it ; the scripture plainly teaches, as in the text. All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable, &c. Rom. xv.
4. ' Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our
learning ; that we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures,
c3
30 THE DIVINK AUTUOllITV
might have hope.' The Jews said, that there was not one point ia
scripture but mountains of mysteries hang on it. See Matth. v. 18.
It argues a profane spirit to talk of the scriptures at that rate.
The peoi)le of God know that many a time they have read over a
scripture in which they could see little or nothing, but afterwards
they have seen a great deal in it when the Spirit hath been com-
mentator : and though in some things we never see any weighty
thing, must we therefore conclude that there is none there ?
(2.) Tlie holy penmen were, in all that they wrote, acted and
guided by the Spirit of God, or wrote all by inspiration of the Holy
Ghost, as says the text, and 2 Pet. i. 20, 21. If all scripture was
given by inspiration, if no scripture be of private interpretation, "nor
came by the will of man, but holy men spake as they were moved
by the Holy Ghost, how can there be any error in any passage of
scripture ? If the scriptures be the word of God, they must be alto-
gether pure, Psal. xix. 7, 8.
(3.) Those things in which there is some repugnancy betwixt the
penmen of the scriptures, are either a part of the canonical scrip-
ture, or not. If they be, then [1.] All scripture is not given by
inspiration of God. [2.] The scriptures are holy scriptures, Rom. i.
2. ; but errors, whether in greater or lesser things, are unholy, and
cannot be a part of the holy scriptures. If they be no part of the
holy scriptures, why do they charge the holy scriptures with errors
therein ?
(4.) If it be so that there is such repugnancy in the scriptures,
then they cannot found certain and divine faith ; for a fallible testi-
mony can ground only a fallible belief. And how shall we know
when they are right, and when they are wrong ? One says that he
is guided by the Spirit, and tells us such a thing ; another says the
same, and tells us the contrary : Whom shall we believe ? If you
say it must be determined by the greater number of the holy pen-
men, it is well known, that amongst those who are fallible, one may
be righter than many. But this is plainly to lean to human testi-
mony ; for one speaking by the Spirit is as much to be believed as
ten thousand. So that this truly dissolves the authority of the
whole scriptures.
In short, we refuse that there are any real inconsistencies or con-
tradictions in the holy oracles of God. Whatever seeming inconsis-
tencies or repugnancies there may be, they may be easily reconciled
and have been actually reconciled to satisfy every sober person, by
many learned divines, whose writings may be consulted on this head.
5. This scope of the whole scriptures, which is to give all glory to
God. The design of them is to exalt none but tlie infinite majesty
OF THE SCRIPTURES. 31
of Heaven, to humble all mankind, and empty tliem of themselves,
that God's grace may be all, and men themselves nothing, but en-
tirely dependent on the mercy of God through Jesus Christ.
6. The full discovery it makes of the way of man's salvation.
Who could ever have told of the Son of God his dying for the sins
of the elect, and have made a discovery of the way of salvation by
faith, which the scripture hath plainly set down ?
7. The entire perfection of the scripture ; that is, the whole
counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory>
man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in scrip-
ture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from
scripture.
There are two ways how matters of faith and life are set doAvn in
the scriptures. The one is when the thing is set down expressly in
so many words ; as the unlawfulness of murder, when it is said,
' Thou shalt not kill ;' the ordinance of baptism, as in that, ' Go and
teach all nations, baptising them,' &c. The other is by good and
necessary consequence, which is when the thing itself is not found in
the scriptures in so many words, but doth evidently (in itself) and
necessarily flow from the express words of scripture, as the bap-
tising of infants is by good and necessary consequence drawn from
that, ' Go ye, and baptise all nations.'
Here I shall first prove, that, besides what is to be found in ex-
press words in the scriptures, good and necessary consequences de-
duced therefrom are also to be admitted, as truly binding as what
is declared in express words there, whether in fundamentals or in
such things as are built on the foundation. If one can prove any
thing by good and necessary consequence from the scripture, it is
all one, as to the binding power on men's consciences, as if it Avere
expressly set down in so many words.
(1.) Good and necessary consequences are such as the word is de-
signed for. What is deduced from them, so is indeed the sense and
meaning of the words ; and if you have the words without the
meaning of them, or without the full meaning of them, in so far ye
come short of the true intent of the words. If I bid a man draw
near the fire, do I not desire him to warm himself, though I speak not
one word of his warming himself? Were not the scriptures written
for that end, that ' we through patience and comfort of them might
have hope ?' Rom. xv. 4. But this cannot be obtained without the
use of consequences. Are they not profitable for doctrine, — ' that
the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good
works?' 2 Tim. iii. 16. But can this be had without the use of
consequences ^
32 THE DIVINE AUTHORITY
(2.) The great fundamental article, that Jesus of Nazareth is the
Messiah, before the New Testament was written, could not be proved
to the Jews by express scripture testimony, but by good and neces-
sary consequence ; yet Christ tells them that there could be no sal-
vation for them without the belief of this. ' If ye believe not that I
am he (the Messiah),' says he, ' ye shall die in your sins.' John
viii. 24.
(3.) Our Lord Jesus Christ himself, while he would prove the
fundamental article of the resurrection against the Sadducees, does
not seek after a text that said in express words, that the dead shall
rise again, but proves it by good consequence, yet no less firmly
than if he had produced an express text for it, Matth. xxii. 32.
And it is no less evident that the apostles follow him in this me-
thod ; as in treating of the resurrection of Christ, Acts ii. 25. of the
resurrection of all mankind, 1 Cor, xv. and of the justification of a
sinner before Grod, in the epistles to the Romans and Galatians.
(4.) Such as reject all arguing from scripture by consequences,
must either confess that by no scripture this way is condemned, or
else they must adduce some express scripture text forbidding it.
The last they can never do. If they say the first, then it is ap-
proved ; otherwise the scripture is no perfect rule of faith and prac-
tice, which we shall immediately shew to be false. If they say
that the scripture leaves it indifi'erent, then I ask, how dare they
condemn it ?
(5.) Refusing to admit good and necessary consequences from
scripture, overturns all religion, both law and gospel, faith and
practice. For how shall it be proved, that John or James are
obliged to obey the law, and believe the gospel but by consequence ?
where will they find an express text for these ? Only the law
speaks to all, the gospel to every hearer of it, and consequently
they oblige thee and me. This way, then, of any doctrine its being
set down in the scripture being admitted, we are to prove next.
That the scriptures are a perfect rule of faith and manner ; or
that the whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for
his own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly
set down therein, &c. *
1. God hath expressly forbidden to add any thing unto his word;
therefore it needs no addition, and so is perfect Deut. iv. 2. ' Ye
shall not add unto the word that I command you.' Consider what
ye speak of; even of statutes and judgments ; statutes, ceremonies,
and rites of worship ; even to these he will have nothing added.
So we have all additions prohibited, Prov. xxx. 6 ; and that under
a severe penalty, Rev. xxii. 18.
OF THE SCRIPTURES. 33
2. 'The law of the Lord is pei'fect,' as is expressly asserted,
Psal. xix. 8. There it is said of it, (1.) it converts the soul; (2.)
makes wise the simple ; (3.) rejoiceth the heart ; and (4.) enlightens
the eyes. The apostle plainly asserts the perfection of it, while he
tells us, 2 Tim. iii. 15. that it is ' able to make a man wise unto sal-
vation.' How can it be so, unless it teach all thing^j necessary to
salvation ? It is 'profitable for doctrine, for reproof, 8fc. What can
be desired more ? And that ye may be sure there is nothing want-
ing in it, he tells you, it is given for that purpose, ' that the man of
God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.'
So Christ saith, ' They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear
them,' Luke xvi. 29. ; clearly importing, that in them is contained
what is sufficient to salvation.
3. Consider the end for which the scriptures were written, even
'that believing men may have life,' John xx. 31.; that 'through
patience and comfort of the scriptures they might have hope,' Rom.
XV. 4. If any thing necessary to salvation were not in them, how
would they answer the end for which they were written ?
4. The Lord Jesus taught his disciples all that he had heard of
the Father, viz. necessary to their salvation, John xv. 15. He com-
missions them to teach all others, even to the end of the world, what
he commanded them, Matth. xxviii. 20. But this they could not do
viva voce ; therefore they did it in their writings. And whoso con-
siders how exact the apostles were of teaching things of lesser mo-
ment, as what day the collection for the poor should be made, &c.
cannot think they would neglect any thing necessary to salvation,
unless they could not through ignorance or forgetfulness ; neither of
which can be imputed to them in their writings, being led by the
Spirit of God infallibly.
5. The nature of the scriptures teaches us their perfection. For
if they be not perfect they cannot be a rule ; for a rule must always
be commensurable to the thing to be regulated. They are Christ's
testament, to which nothing is to be added, being confirmed.
I shall now deduce some inferences from this subject.
1. The holy penmen of the scriptures had a command from God
to write, and did not write only occasionally without a command.
For that inspiration was an internal command, whereby the Spirit
moved them to write, 2 Pet. i. 21.
2. The penmen of the scriptures were infallible in their writing,
so that they were not mistaken in any thing, even of the least mo-
ment : far less is there any real contradiction among them, being all
guided by the same Spirit, who inspired the very words, and kept
them from all error, 2 Pet. i. 20, 21.
34 THE DIVINE AUTHORITY
3. The authority of the scripture iii itself, that is, the power it
hath to bind the conscience, does not depend on the church, but
wholly on God, the author of it. For,
(1.) The church is built upon the scriptures, Eph. ii. 20. ' Upon
the foundation of the prophets and apostles.' This foundation is
not personal ; ' for other foundation can no man lay than that which
is laid, even Jesus Christ:' but it is doctrinal, the doctrine of the
prophets and apostles. Now, it is clear, that the superstructure
depends on the foundation, not the foundation on it.
(2.) If the authority of the scriptures depended on the church,
then they behoved first of all to believe the authority of the church
without the scriptures, and our faith should be built upon human
testimony, which is fallible ; but we believe the church for the
scriptures, and no otherwise, Isa. viii. 20. and human testimony can-
not found divine faith.
(3.) Whence can any prove that the church is to be believed but
from the scripture ? and then to say, that the scriptures must be
believed for the church's testimony, is a circle unworthy of men of
sense.
(4.) Either the church had reason to receive the scriptures or not.
If they had no reason to receive them, they have as little reason to
impose them on others. If they had, what was it, but that it was
truth, and worthy to be received ? Therefore their testimony does
not make it truth, or worthy to be believed and obeyed.
(,5.) The scripture is God's own word, 2 Tim. iii. 16. How blas-
phemous is it then to deny faith unto God in the scriptures, while
he speaks to us in them, unless the testimony of men give authority
to his word ? This is as much as to say, that God hath his authority
from the church, and that he ought not to be believed or obeyed,
unless the church commanded it ; which is most blasphemous. Of
this blasphemy is the church of Rome guilty, who roundly assert
that the authority of the scripture depends on the church. I shall
only add, that this is the high way to keep Christians off from con-
vincing Turks, Pagans, and Jews, as to the New Testament, while
we tell them that the authority of the scripture, wherein our reli-
gion is laid down, depends on the church, and that the scriptures are
true, because the church says it.
4. The authority of the scripture as to us is not from the church,
but from itself; that is, the reason why we receive the scripture as
the word of God, it is not because the church says it is so, but be-
cause it evidences itself to be so. For as God's works do them-
selves tell their Maker, so his word declares the Speaker ; so that a
spiritual discerner must needs say, on the reading of it, tliough none
OP THE SCKIPTURES. 35
should recommend, it is the voice of God, not of men. Can we
discern an unlearned man's letter from that of a learned man ? and
doth not God's word bear a divine character ? It is a light, a lamp,
&c. the nature of which is to discover itself. Thus there is objective
evidence enough in the scripture ; though indeed the subjective evi-
dence cannot be had but by the Spirit of God ; so that to him bear-
ing witness by and with the word, we owe the full assurance that it
is God's word, 1 Cor. ii. 10, 14. And this is the reason why great
scholars may be less persuaded of this truth, than the most un-
learned peasants ; because, though the sun discovers itself suffi-
ciently, yet blind men cannot see it.
Now, that the iuward illumination of the Spirit of God is neces-
sary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in
the word, I shall prove by the following arguments.
1. The scripture makes this inward illumination of the Spirit of
God necessary for understanding the scriptures, while it ascribes
the same wholly unto the Spirit, Matth. xvi. 17- ' Flesh and blood
hath not revealed it, [Christ's being the Son of the living God] unto
thee, but my father which is in heaven ;' 1 Cor. ii. 10, 11, 12. ' God
hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit ; for the Spirit searcheth
all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth
the things of a man, save the Spirit of man which is in him ? even
so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now
we have received, not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which
is of God ; that we might know the things that are freely given to
us of God.' If the Spirit of God take the same unto himself as his
own proper work, how can any arrogate it to themselves, as if by
the power of nature they were able for it ?
2. There is an ntter inability in man by nature to know savingly
the things of God. Tliey arc above his capacity while he remains
in his natural state, and nothing can act beyond the sphere of its
activity. This is plain from 1 Cor. ii. 1-4. where not only the act
of receiving them is denied to natural men, but the very power of
discerning them ; and the reason is given, ' because they are spiritu-
ally discerned,' and he wants the organ of discerning spiritually.
And this discerning is appropriated to the spiritual man, ver. 15.
Had not the Israelites in the wilderness very great external helps
to gain the knowledge of the things of God, Deut. xxix. ? but all
was ineffectual. What was the want then ? See ver. 4. ' The Lord
hath not given you (says Moses, to them) an heart to perceive, and
eyes to see, and ears to hear.'
3. If it were not the spiritual illumination that gave this savins.-
understanding of the things of God, then tlie greatest adepts in
36 THE DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES.
human literature would have most of the saving knowledge of such
things as are revealed in the word. This plainly follows : But that
it is not so, the scripture testifies, 1 Cor. i. 20, 26, 27, 28. * Where
is the wise ? "Where is the scribe ? where is the disputer of this
world ? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world ? For
ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God hath
chosen the foolish things of the world, to confound the wise : and
God hath chosen the weak things of the world, to confound the
things which are mighty ; and base things of the world, and things
which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not,
to bring to nought things that are.' Many times it is seen to be
quite otherwise. And what makes the difierence ? See Matth. xi.
25. ' I thank thee, 0 Father, Lord of heaven and earth (says
Christ), because thou hast hid these things from the wise and pru-
dent, and hast revealed them unto babes.' Even as he hath put
this treasure in earthen A^essels, to the end the praise might be of
God, that it may be seen it is not the act of the preacher, but the
power of the Spirit, that gives true understanding.
4. Men without the saving illumination of the Spirit are so far
from attaining sufficient knowledge of the things revealed in the
word of God, that they judge them foolish, 1 Cor. ii. 14. The doc-
trine concerning Christ crucified was to the Jews, who had the law
and the prophets, a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks, who ex-
celled in human learning, foolishness, 1 Cor. i. 23. ; yea, no less
than madness. Acts xxvi. 24. Nay, even the godly themselves,
when without the actual influence of the Spirit, are not far from
reckoning as they do who are in nature ; as in the case of the
apostles, looking on the account brought them of the resurrection of
their Lord as an idle tale, and not believing it, Luke xxiv. 11.
The doctrine of Christ's resurrection seemed to the disciples as
idle tales ; how much more so to men utterly destitute of the Spirit,
who many times are besides judicially blinded ? 2 Cor. iv. 4.
5. The Lord promises his Spirit to the end men may be taught to
know the truths of God savingly, Ezek. xxxvi. 26. John xiv. 16, 17.
and xvi. 12, 13. Has he promised his Spirit in vain? or are we
sufficiently furnished already ? If so, why does he promise his
Spirit ?
6. The prayers of the saints for this illumination prove the ne-
cessity of it, Psal. cxix. 18. Eph. i. 17, 18. Col. i. 9. And they pray
so, because they feel the need of it : the experience of the Spirit is
that against which there is no disputing.
7. Let us consider that passage, John vi. 45. ' And they shall be
THE SCRIPTURES A RULE. 37
all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and
learned of the Father, cometh unto me.' It is plain that by coming
unto Christ is meant saving faith in him. Now, in order to this
there is a promise, that they shall all, viz. all the elect, for faith is
the saving faith of God's elect, be taught of God, viz. by the Spirit,
not merely by external revelation, because whosoever thus hears
comes unto Christ : but it is certain that all come not to Christ that
hear, and learn of the Father by external revelation only. From
all, which it is evident, that unto the sufficient understanding of the
things revealed in the scripture the teaching of the Spirit is neces-
sary ; and that all who attain to the saving knowledge of these
things do believe.
What then remains upon this head but, that we diligently read
the holy scriptures as being the word of God, and the rule which he
hath given to direct us both as to faith and practice ; and that we
fervently pray to God, that he may give us his holy Spirit to en-
lighten our minds in the saving knowledge of the word, without
which we will remain in the dark, and the word will be but a dead
letter to us ? Lord open our eyes, that we may understand thy
word.
THE UTILITY OF THE SCRIPTURES AS A RULE,
I proceed to the consideration of another Doctrine.
DocT. ' The scriptures are the rule to direct us how we may glorify
and enjoy God.'
Here I shall only give the properties of this rule.
1. It is a perspicuous or clear rule. For though all things in
scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all ;
yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and
observed for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in
some place of scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the
unlearned, in a due sense of the ordinary means, may attain unto
a sufficient understanding of them.
(1.) With respect to all things necessary to salvation, whether
for faith or practice, it cannot be denied, but there are portions of
the scripture very obscure, which possibly are not rightly interpreted
even to this day ; but in such things as are necessary to salvation,
they are clear. And in this respect it hath been said, that the
88 THE SOIUPTUUKS A KL'LK.
scriptures are a depth wherein a lamb may wade, and an elephant
may swim.
(2.) Though some things, the faith of which is necessary to salva-
tion, be high and incomprehensible mysteries, such as the doctrine
of the Trinity, of the incarnation of the Son of God, &c. yet the way
of propounding them is clear.
(3.) It may be that what is truly necessary unto salvation may
be very obscurely laid down in some place of scripture ; yet in some
other place we shall find the same thing clearly propounded :
(4.) And that so as not only the learned, but even the unlearned,
may attain to a sufficient understanding of them ; which you must
carefully remember is meant here of believing persons, who have the
inward illumination of the Spirit, removing their own natural dark-
ness : for if ye shall understand it of unbelievers, it contradicts
what we have laid down above, relating to the necessity of spiritual
illumination. And so the sense is, that not only may the learned,
but even the unlearned Christian, attain to a sufficient understand-
ing of the word ;
(5.) Providing they make use of the ordinary means appointed of
God for the understanding of them ; reading attentively and de-
voutly with prayer and meditation on them, &;c.
This perspicuity of the scriptures I shall prove by the following
arguments.
(1.) The scripture plainly teaches its own perspicuity and clear-
ness in this sense. It is called a lamp and a light, Psal. cxix. 105.
The very ' entrance of it (it is said) gives light and understanding to
the simple,' ver. 130. See Prov. vi. 23. The apostle, 2 Pet. i. 19.
calls the holy scriptures a light, and particularly the word of pro-
phecy, or the prophetic word, which of all the rest seems most dark,
yet this he calls a light and a shining light, shining in a dark place ;
shewing thereby, that where it comes and shines, though the place
be of itself dark, yet it dispels the darkness.
(2.) Such is the way God hath delivered his word, that its com-
mands are not remote from the understanding ; the meanest believer
hath no reason to complain of the difficulty of it in the things neces-
sary to salvation, Deut. xxx. 11. &c. 'For this command which I
command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far
oft": It is not in heaven, that thou shouldst say, Who shall go up
for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do
it ? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldst say, Who shall
go over the sea for us, and bring it in unto us, that we may hear it,
and do it ! But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in
thy heart, that thou mayest do it.'
THE SOKIPTURES A RULE. 39
(3.) If all things necessary to salvation be understood by all sin-
cere Christians, and this by virtue of the Spirit dwelling in every
believer, then the scriptures are clear in all things necessary to sal-
vation to the meanest believer. But the former is true : 1 Cor. ii.
15. 'He that is spiritual judgeth all things ;' 1 John ii. 20, 27. ' Ye
have an unction from the holy One, and ye know all things. The
anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need
not that any man teach you ; but the same anointing teacheth you
of all things.' Consider to whom John is there speaking, not only
to learned men and great divines, but to all believers, even to little
children ; to all that have the Spirit, which is common to all ; ' for
if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.'
(4.) The things that are necessary to salvation are bid only to
unbelievers, in whom the God of this world hath blinded their eyes ;
as for others, God himself hath taught them, 2 Cor. iv. 4, 6.
(5.) God hath promised to write his law is his people's hearts, and
that he himself will teach them to know himself, Jer. xxxi. 33, 34 ;
therefore the scripture must needs be perspicuous and clear in things
necessary to salvation : for that which is written in our hearts can-
not be but clear unto us ; and that which God himself teacheth us
cannot be obscure, for who teacheth like God ?
(6.) If the scriptures be not clear in themselves to all belicA^ers,
but that all its perspicuity depends on the interpretation of the
church, then our faith is to be ultimately resolved into the testimony
of man ; but that cannot be, for human testimony is not infallible
and authentic, and therefore cannot found divine faith and an in-
fallible persuasion. The reason of the consequence is clear. Hear-
ers are obliged if they will not pin their faith on men's sleeves, to
compare the interpretations given by men, with the scriptures them-
selves ; which is utterly impracticable, unless the scriptures be clear
in themselves in such things as are necessary to salvation.
(7.) The perspicuity of the scripture appears, if ye consider their
author, who is God himself, the Father of lights ; and the end for
•which he gave the scriptures unto the church, viz. that they might
be a rule of faith and life. Of his power to speak plainly, who can
doubt? and the end for which they are given may sufficiently satisfy
as to his Avill to speak so ; for how can they be a rule to us, if wrapt
up so as we cannot understand them without the church's interpre-
tation, in those things that are necessary to salvation ?
2. It is a perfect rule. There is nothing necessary to be believed
or done but what is to be found there. It is a perfect rule for us to
walk by in the way to heaven and glory. What can be more de-
sired than that in the text, It is jn-ofitahlc for doctrine, for reproof,
40 THE SCRIPTURES A RULE.
for correction, for instruction in righteoxisness ? ' The law of the Lord
is perfect,' Psal. xix. 7. The scriptures were written that men
might have life, John xx. 31. and comfort and hope in all conditions,
Rom. XV. 4. But I insisted on this more fully in the preceding
doctrine.
3. It is the only rule. Every doctrine taught any manner of way
in religion must be brought to this rule, and if it agree not with it,
must be rejected, Isa. viii. 20. Hereby traditions must be tried,
Matth. XV. 3 ; and spirits or revelations, 1 John iv. 1 ; and nothing
must be added to it, Prov. xxx. 6. Rev. xxii. 18. I shall shut up
with a few inferences.
Inf. 1. The opinions of fathers, decrees of councils, acts of as-
semblies, covenants, and minister's sermons, are not the rule of faith
to us ; nor can any of them bind us but in so far as they are agree-
able to the word of God, by which all of them must be judged and
examined, Isa. viii. 20.
2. Translations of the scriptures into the vulgar languages are
most necessary and profitable. How otherwise should the unlearned
read them, if they were not translated ? It was by means of these
translations that Romish Babel was brought down at the Reforma-
tion, as by the division of tongues the building of old Babel was
hindered. And that makes the Papists such enemies to translations
of the scriptures. We have reason to bless Grod for human learning,
by which these translations are made, seeing the prophets and
apostles wrote in languages which but few understand.
3. This may give us a just abhorrence of Popery, which almost in
every point on this head casts dust on the scriptures. The Papists
deny the necessity of translations ; will not allow the people the free
reading of the Bible ; cry out on it for its obscurity ; accuse it of
imperfection ; and add their traditions to it, that it may not be the
only rule. And thus they blaspheme both God and his word, and
expose themselves to that direful threatening. Rev. xxii. 18.
4. This may also give us a just detestation of Quakerism, which
sets up the light within men, which in very deed is nothing but a
natural conscience, and the spirit without the scriptures, to be a
rule to men. But their light is but darkness, and their spirit a
spirit of darkness and delusion, if it agree not with the scriptures,
Isa. viii. 20. and must be tried and examined by the scriptures,
1 John iv. 1. The Quakers are a dangerous set of people that over-
turn the foundation of true religion.
5. This may likewise give us a just abhorrence of the superstition
and ceremonies of the church of England, wherewith they have
corrupted the worship of God, rejecting the simplicity of gospel-
THE SCOPE OP THE SCRIPTURES. 41
worship, and regulating their worship in many things not by the
scripture, but the dregs of Antichrist : Deut iv. 2. ' Ye shall not
add unto the word that I command you.' What word ? Statutes,
ver. 1. ceremonies and rites of worship. To baptize with water is
Christ's command ; but who has added the sign of the cross ? Christ
instituted the sacrament of the supper : but who has added kneel-
ing, to overturn the table-gesture, which we have from Christ's own
example ? The Lord's day is of divine institution : but whose are
the numerous holidays observed in the church of England ? Matth.
XV. 9. What is all this but an accusing the scripture of imperfec-
tion, as if Grod had not laid down a sufficient rule to teach us how
we may glorify him : as if they were ashamed of simple scripture-
worship, but they must deck it up in the whorish garments made by
their own brains ? God has a special zeal for his worship ; and it
becomes us to quicken our zeal for it, in a time when enemies are
bringing in innovations in worship into this church, and setting up
their Dagon beside the ark. But though God should, for oar con-
tempt of our pure worship, plague the land with this superstitious
worship once more, yet as sure as Babylon shall fall, it shall fall
and flee before the glory of the latter days.
6. Lastly, Be exhorted to study the holy scriptures. Read them
in your families, and read them in secret, and cry for the Holy
Spirit, who dictated them, to make you understand them. Lock them
not up in your chests, and let them not lie dusty in your windows,
as too many do to their shame and disgrace, lest the dust of them
witness against you. Prefer the Bible to all other books, as the
book whereof God himself is the author. Prize and esteem it, as
showing you the way to salvation, as a lamp to your feet, and a
light to your paths.
42 THE SCOPE OF THE SCKIPTURES.
THE SCOPE OF THE SCRIPTURES.
1 Tim. i. 13. — Hold fast the form of sound words — in faith a'nd love.
In these words there is, (1.) The character of scripture-doctrine ; it
is sound words ; sound and pure in itself, and sound in its efiects,
being of a soul-healing virtue, Ezek. xlvii. 9, (2.) The sum of it,
faith, shewing what we are to believe ; and love, what we are to do,
1 John V. 3. John xiv. 15. This love has a particular relation to
Christ, all our obedience being to be offered unto God through him,
as our faith fixes on God through him. This was what the apostle
preached. (3.) Our duty with respect to it; to hold fast the form of
sound words. This signifies, [1.] To have a pattern of the doctrine
in our minds, to which all that ministers teach must be conformable.
(2.) To hold it fast ; to cleave to, and keep hold of it, without
flinching from it, whatever dangers or difficulties may attend the
doing so. Both these senses are implied in the words.
The text afi"ords the following doctrinal proposition.
DocT. " The scriptures imncipally teach what man is to believe
concerning God, and what duty God requires of man."
As to the matter of scripture-doctrine.
1. Some things are taught in the scriptures less principally ; that
is, the main design of the scriptures is not to teach these things ;
neither are they taught for themselves, but for the respect they
have to other things. Thus in the scripture we may learn the
knowledge of several natural things, as of the nature of some trees,
birds, beasts, &c. of husbandry, the customs of several nations, es-
pecially of the Jews, &c. But these and such like things are only
taught in the scripture, as having some respect to our faith and
obedience. So the vine tree is described, Ezek. xv. to hold forth
the uselessness of barren professors, &c. However, whatsoever is
taught in the scriptures, seeing the scripture is God's word, is all
to be received by divine faith, though all scripture-truths are not of
equal importance.
2. The scripture teaches some things chiefly. And these are
faith and obedience. These are the two parts of the doctrine of the
Bible. Whatsoever concerns religion, or the salvation of souls, in
the Old and New Testament, may be reduced to one of these two
heads : It is either an article of faith, or a point of obedience.
llere I shall consider,
I. The nature of faith and obedience, and the connection betwixt
the two.
THE SCOPE OF THE SCRIPTURES. 43
II. The manner of the scripture's teaching:
III. The sense of scripture.
IV. Shew that the Spirit of God speaking in the scriptures is the
supreme judge of controversies in religion.
I. Let us consider the nature of that faith and obedience which
the scripture teaclies, with the connexion betwixt the two.
First, As to faith. Divine faith is a believing of what God has
revealed, because God has said it, or revealed it. People may be-
lieve scripture-truths, but not with a divine faith, unless they believe
it on that very ground, the authority of God speaking in his woi'd.
And this divine faith is the product of the Spirit of God in the
heart of a sinner, implanting the habit or principle of faith there,
.and exciting it to a hearty reception and firm belief of whatever
God reveals in his word. And the faith which the scripture teaches
is what a man is to believe concerning God. This may be reduced
to four heads : What God is, the persons in the Godhead, the de-
crees of God relating to every thing that comes to pass, and the
execution of them in his works of creation and providence. Now,
though the works of creation and providence shew that there is a
God, yet that fundamental truth, that God is, and the doctrines
relating to the Trinity of Persons in the Unity of the Divine Es-
sence, God's acts and purposes, the creation of all things, the state
of man at his creation, his fall, and his recovery by the mediation
and satisfaction of Christ, are only to be learned from the holy
scriptures. Hence we may infer,
1. That there can be no right knowledge of God acquired in an
ordinary way without the scriptuies, Matt. xxii. 29. " Ye do err
(said Christ to the Sadducees), not knowing the scriptures." As
there must be a dark night where the light is gone, so those places
of the earth must needs be dark, and without the saving knowledge
of God, that want the scriptures. Thus the Apostle tells the Ephe-
sians, that, before they were visited with the light of the gospel,
they were " without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of
Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope,
and without God in the world." Eph. ii. 12.
2. That where the scriptures are not known, there can be no sav-
ing faith. For, says the apostle, Rom. x. 14, 15, 17- ' How shall
they call on him in whom they have not believed ? and liow shall
they believe in him of whom they have not heard ? and how shall
they hear without a preacher ? and how shall they preach, except
they be sent? as it is written, Hoav^ beautiful are tlio feet of them
that preach the gospel of peace, an*l bring glad tidings of good
1^2
44 THE SCOPE OF THE SCRIPTURES.
things ! So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word
of God.'
3. That there is nothing we are bound to believe as a part of
faith but what the scripture teaches, be who they will that propose
it, and whatever they may pretend for their warrant. ' To the law
and to the testimony : if they speak not according to this word, it is
because their is no light in them,' Isa. viii. 20. No man must be
our master in these things : ' For one is our master, even Christ,'
Matth. xxiii. 10. He is Lord of our faith, and we are bound to be-
lieve whatever he has revealed in his word.
Secondly, As to obedience, it is that duty which God requires of
man. It is that duty and obedience which man owes to God, to his
will and laws, in respect of God's universal supremacy and sovereign
authority over man ; and which he should render to him out of love
and gratitude. The scriptures are the holy oracle from whence we
are to learn our duty, Psal. xix. 11. ' By them is thy servant
warned,' says David. The Bible is the light we are to take heed
to, that we may know how to steer our course, and order the several
steps of our life. ' Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light to
my path,' says the Psalmist, Psal. cxix. 105. From whence we
may infer.
1. That there can be no sufficient knowledge of the duty which
we owe to God without the scriptures. Though the light of nature
does in some measure shew our duty to God, yet it is too dim to
take up the will of God sufficiently in order to salvation.
2. That there can be no right obedience yielded to God without
them. Men that walk in the dark must needs stumble ; and the
works that are wrought in the dark will never abide the light; for
there is no working rightly by guess in this matter. All proper
obedience to God must be learned from the scriptures.
3. That there is no point of duty that we are called to, but what
the scripture teaches, Isa. viii. 20. forecited. Men must neither
make duties to themselves, or others, but what God has made duty.
The law of God is exceeding broad, and reaches the whole conver-
sation of man, outward and inward, Psal. xix. and man is bound to
conform himself to it alone as the rule of his duty.
Thirdly, As to the connexion of these two, faith and obedience
are joined together, because there is no true faith but what is fol-
lowed with obedience, and no true obedience but what flows from
faith. Faith is the loadstone of obedience, and obedience the touch-
stone of faith, as appears from Jam. ii. 'passim. They that want
faith cannot be holy ; and they that have true faith, their faith will
work by love. Hence we may see.
THE SCOPE OF THE SCRIPTURES. 45
I. That faith is the foundation of duty or obedience, and not obe-
dience or duty the foundation of faith, Tit iii. 8. and that the things
to be believed are placed before the things to be practised, in order
to distinguish between the order of things in the covenant of grace,
and what they were under the covenant of works. Under the lat-
ter, doing, or perfect obedience to the law, was the foundation of
the promised privilege of life ; but under the former, the promise is
to be believed, and the promised life is to be freely received : and
thereupon follows the believer's obedience to the laAV, out of grati-
tude and love for the mercy received. This ai)pears from the oi'der
laid down by God himself in delivering the moral law from mount
Sinai. He lays the foundation of faith, first of all, in these words,
' I am the Lord thy God,' &c. which is the sum an'd substance of the
covenant of grace ; and then follows the law of the ten command-
ments, wliich is as it were grafted upon this declaration of sovereign
grace and love, Exod. xx. 2, — 18. And let it be remembered, that
the apostle Paul calls gospel-obedience the obedience of faith as
springing from and founded upon faith. And if we examine the
order of doctrine laid down in all his epistles, we shall find, that he
first propounds the doctrine of faith, or what man is to believe, and
upon that foundation inculcates the duties that are to be practised.
• 2. That all works without faith are dead, and so cannot please
God. For whatsoever is not of faith is sin ; and without or sepa-
rate from Christ we can do nothing. Faith is the principle of all
holy and acceptable obedience.
3. That those who inculcate moral duties without discovering the
necessity of regeneration, and union with Christ, as the source of all
true obedience, are foolish builders ; they lay their foundation on
the sand, and the sui)erstructure they raise will soon be overturned ;
and they pervert the gospel of Christ. Such would do well to con-
sider what the Apostle says, Gal. i. 9. ' If any man preach any
other gospel unto you than ye have received, let him be accursed.
II. I proceed now to consider the manner of the scripture's
teaching.
1. The scripture teaches some things expressly in so many words ;
as, ' Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom
of God,' &c. Other things it teaches by good and necessary conse-
quence ; as, that infants are to be baptized. Now, whatever can be
proved by just and necessary consequence from sacred writ, is all
one, as to the binding power on men's consciences, as if it were
taught there in so many words, whether it be in points of faith or
obedience,
2. The scriptures teach but externally. It is the Spirit that
V 3
46 THE SCOPE OF TUB SCUIPTUltES.
teaches internally. The scriptures externally reveal what we arc-
to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man ;
but the inward illumination of the Spirit of God is necessary for the
saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the scrip-
tures, for several reasons which I mentioned in the former dis-
course, and shall not now repeat.
III. I come now to consider the sense of the scripture.
1. The sense of the scripture is but one, and not manifold. There
may be several parts of that one sense subordinate one to another;
as some prophecies have a respect to the deliverance from Babylon,
the spiritual by Christ, and the eternal in heaven ; and some pas-
sages have one thing that is typical of another : yet these are but
one full sense, only that may be of two sorts ; one is simple, and
another compound. Some scriptures have only a simple sense, con-
taining a declaration of one thing only ; and that is either proper or
figurative. A proper sense is that which arises from the words
taken properly, and the figurative from the words taken figuratively.
Some have a simple proper sense, as, ' God is a Spirit, God created
the heavens and the earth ;' which are to be understood according to
the propriety of the words. Some have a simple figurative sense ;
as, ' I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every
branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away,' &c. Thelfe
have but one simple sense ; but then it is the figurative, and is not
to be understood according to the propriety of the words, as if
Christ were a tree, &c. Thus you see what the simple sense is.
The compound or mixed sense is found wherein one thing is held
forth as a type of the other ; and so it consists of two parts, the one
respecting the type, the other the antitype ; which are not two
senses, but two parts of that one and entire sense intended by the
Holy Ghost : e. g. Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
that those who were stung by the fiery serpents might look to it and
be healed. The full sense of which is, ' As Moses lifted up the ser-
pent in the wilderness, that, &c. even so must the Son of man be
lifted up ; that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but
have eternal life.' Here is a literal and mystical sense, which make •
up one full sense betwixt them. Those scriptures that have this
compound sense are sometimes fulfilled properly (or literally, as it
is taken in opposition to figuratively) in the type and antitype both ;
as Hos. xi. 1. ' I have called my Son out of Egypt,' which was liter-
ally true both of Israel and Christ. Sometimes figuratively in the
type, and properly in the antitype, as Psal. Ixix. 21, ' They gave mo
vinegar to drink.' Sometimes properly in the type, and figuratively
in the antitype, as Psal. ii. 9. ' Tliou shalt break them with a rod of
TUB SCOPE OF THE SCRIPTURES. 4?
iron.' Compare 2 Sam. xii. 31. Sometimes figuratively in both,
as Psal. xli. 9. ' Yea mine own familiar friend — hath lifted up his
heel against me ;' Avhich is meant of Ahitophel and Judas. Now the
sense of the scripture must be but one, and not manifold, that is,
quite different and no wise subordinate one to another, because of
the unity of truth, and because of the perspicuity of the scripture.
2. Where there is a question about the true sense of scripture, it
must be found out what it is by searching other places that speak
more clearly, the scripture itself being the infallible rule of inter-
preting scripture. Now that it is so, appears from the following
arguments.
(1.) The Holy Spirit gives this as a rule, 2 Pet. i. 20. 21. After
the apostle had called the Christians to take heed to the scripture,
he gives them this rule for understanding it, ' Knowing this first,
that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation,
tes ideas c-piluseos, of our own exposition. For the prophecy came
not in old time by the will of man ; but holy men of God spake as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost.' As it came ; so it is to bo
expounded : but it came not by the will of man ; therefore we are
not to rest on men for the sense of it, but holy men speaking as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and so never erring ; therefore
we are to look to the dictates of the same Spirit in other places.
(2.) There are several approved examples of this, comparing one
scripture with another, to find out the meaning of the Holy Ghost ;
as Acts XV. 15. 'And to this agree the words of the prophet,' &c.
The Bereans are commended for this, Acts xvii. 11. Yea, Christ
himself makes use of this to shew the true sense of the scripture
against the devil, Matth. iv. 6. ' Cast thyself down, (said that
wicked spirit) : for it is written, He shall give his angels charge
concerning thee,' &c. Ver. 7. ' It is written again, (says Christ),
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.' And thus our Lord
makes out the true sense of that scripture, that it is to be under-
stood only with respect to them who do not cast themselves on
a tempting of God. Some more will occur concerning this poiii<
under the next head.
This then is the great, chief, and infallible rule of interpretation
of scripture, to compare one passage with another. Other things
may be added as helps and means in order to find out the true
sense.
1. The knowledge of the Hebrew and Greek, in which languages
the prophets and apostles wrote, is an excellent mean to the right
understanding of the scriptures. Theso original ti»ugues are tlir
best commentaries on scripture ; and many timus it is found so by
those that know them.
48 THE SCOPE OF THE SCKIPTUEES.
2. Diligently consider the scope and design of the Holy Gliost in
the portion of scripture where ye find difficulty, the coherence and
context, with all circumstances going before and following. Nullo
est objectio in lege quce non habet solutionem in latere says a rabbi, Quis
Scopus, impelleiis, sedes, tempusque, locusque, et modus, hcec septem scrip-,
turce attendito lector.
3. Distinguish proper from improper words. The scripture fre-
quently uses improper and figurative expressions, which, if taken as
the letters sound, will found a very absurd sense.
4. The commentaries of godly and learned writers are not to be
neglected.
5. The reading also of profane history is of notable use in the
knowledge of the prophetical writings. And the knowledge of the
Jewish customs brings great light to the scriptures.
6. Lastly, Always take heed to the analogy of faith, and see
there be no deviating therefrom : for the Spirit of God speaking in
the scripture is always one and the same ; and therefore we are
never to think that one scripture can be contrary to another, or the
known doctrine of the Bible and the form of sound words : e. g.
' This is my body which is broken for you ;' it cannot be so under-
stood as if Christ's body were locally present in the sacrament ; be-
cause we believe, according to the constant doctrine of scripture,
that Christ is ascended into heaven, and will come again at the last
day ; and till then the heavens must contain him. So we must not
take the words literally, when it is contrary to modesty, as when
Isaiah is bid go naked, Isa. xx. 2. ; or to piety, to cut off the right
hand, &c. More particularly,
1. Go to God for his Spirit to teach you, Psal. cxix. 18. It is
Christ's Avork to give people to understand the scriptures. If you
would know what Paul says, pray for the spirit by which he wrote.
2. Take heed of a carnal, earthly, and fleshly mind. When the
heart is carnal, the mind is much blinded, and so utterly unfit for
searching the scriptures.
3. Endeavour to be exercised unto godliness. An exercised frame
proves sometimes an excellent commentator.
4. Lastly, Endeavour to practise what you know.
IV. I proceed to shew that the spirit of God speaking in scrip-
ture is the supreme judge by which all controversies of religion are
to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient
writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined,
and in whose sentence we are to rest.
This is a very important point, and upon it depends the whole of
religion. One man says so, another man says otherwise : the ques-
THE SCOPE OP THE SCRIPTURES. 49
tion is, "Who shall be judge, and to whose determination are we to
stand and acquiesce in ? Four sundry ways do men go here.
First, Enthusiasts set up the private spirit, and its revelations,
without the Spirit, for the judge of controversies. But whatever
these may pretend, the scripture is our only rule. For,
1. "Whatever revelation or light men may pretend to, God binds
them and us to the written word, Isa. viii. 20. ' If they speak not
according to the scriptures,' it is not true light, but ' because there
is no light in them,' that makes it so : for going against the word,
they shew themselves to be acted with a spirit of delusion, 1 John
iv. 6.
2. The Apostle Paul devotes them to a curse, though they were
angels, who preach any other gospel than what he preached, and the
Galatians received from his hand, Gal. i. 8, 9 ; not only a gospel
contrary to it, but another, any thing diverse from or besides it,
though not contrary to it. And if it be contrary the Spirit is con-
trary to himself, for he is the author of the scriptures.
3. We are commanded to ' try the spirits,' 1 John iv. 1. Now,
how must they be tried but by a rule ; and what rule have we to
try them by but the written word ? This was the rule which the
Bereans made use of to try the spirit of the apostles, for which they
are highly commended. It is that rule which Christ sends the
Pharisees to try his own doctrine by, John v. 40. But by the scrip-
tures we cannot try the spirits, unless we lay them to that rule, and
observe whether or not the spirits speak as the scriptures do ; and
then how can the new revelations be received ?
4. The si>irit's revelations are either a complete or partial rule.
If our complete rule, then the scriptures are useless which is blas-
phemous, and contrary to all those commands that requires us to
give attendance to the reading, searching, &c. of them. If they be a
partial rule only, then they either teach according to the scripture,
or not. If according to it, then it is no new revelation, but what
the scripture already alfords us. If not, it is because there is no
light in them, Isa. viii. 20.
There is one scripture that we must more narrowly inquire into,
both because it is abused by the adversaries in this point, and
affords us an argument for our doctrine. The passage is, 2 Pet. i. 19.
' "We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whcreunto ye do well
that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until
the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts.' Enthusiasts
here, by the day-star arising in the heart, understand some extra-
ordinary revelation and light which God sets up in the soul, whicli
when it is set up, the person is to take heed to the written word no
50 THE SCOPE OF THE SCRIPTUKES.
longer. But, (1.) Whither would these men drive us? They tell
us, th.at all men have a light within them, according to which they
must walk ; and this is the spirit within us ; yet must we still ex-
pect a new light to turn us oiF from the scriptures ; (2.) The apostle
here plainly prefers the word of prophecy unto an immediate voice
from heaven, and that in the very same thing wherein they both
agree : how much more preferable is the scripture to new revela-
tions ? (3.) This supposes, that the apostles and believers in those
days had not this light ; for they say, ' We have a more sure word
of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed.' This being
so, we envy not the Quakers their light, which the apostles and
these Christians were strangers to.
Some by the day dawning and the day-star arising understand
the more clear dispensation which they suppose is to come in the
latter days. Others understand by it the sight of Grod and Christ
in glory, till which time the scriptures must be made use of, but no
longer. Others understand this as spoken to the believing Jews in
reference to the prophets of the Old Testament, to which they did
well to take heed, till their gospel light should shine more clearly.
Some say, the word until is not to be taken exclusively of the time
following that dawning of the day, and day star arising ; and there-
by understand simply more clear light arising after some darkness,
which the people of God may be in for a time; till which light
arising they are to take heed to the scriptures ; not that they a,re
then to give over taking heed to them. Laying aside that which
relates to a more clear dispensation yet to come, because it sup-
poses that then the scriptures must be laid aside, which is very con-
trary to the scripture, for the Spirit shall never in this life justle
out the word, but his office is to teach, not new things unwritten,
but whatever Christ spoke to his disciples : ' He shall bring all
things to your remembrance, (says he), whatsoever I have said unto
you,' John xiv. 26 : Laying aside that, it is hard to determine
which of the rest is indeed the true meaning of the apostle. Only
it seems to bid fairest for the apostle's sense, to say, that he speaks
of the more clear knowledge of Christ which the believers at that
time were afterwards to have, till which time they did well to take
heed to the prophetical word, as it is in the Grreek ; that is, to the
doctrine of the prophets who prophesied of Christ ; not that they
were then to lay by the use of the prophets, but that then they
would be of less use to them than before, when they should attain
to a more clear gospel-light ; as the candle is of less use when the
day dawns than it was before, thougli it be still useful. And I
think it abundantly plain, that the word of prophecy is not here to
TUE SCOPE OF THE SCRIPTURES. 51
be understood generally of the whole scripture, as the other inter-
pretations seem to take it, but particularly of the doctrine of the
prophets concerning Christ and the gospel, as appears from the
phrase, the prophetic word, and the first verse of the following chap-
ter, where he speaks of false prophets that were among the people
of the Jews. So by the day-star I understand Christ himself, who
is called the morning star, Rev. xxii. 16. It is true it is here Phar-
phoros, but there oster omithes : but, for ought I know, the first of
these is, apax Icgomenon ; and though the words be different, the
sense is the same, one thing gets but different names. And Christ
is called the day-star or morning-star, which we know are both one
thing; because, (1.) As the morning star is the most eminent among
the stars, and most lucid, as appears by its shining when the ap-
pearance of the sun makes the rest disappear ; so there is none like
Christ among the sons. Cant. ii. 3. (2.) As the day-star puts an
end to the dark night, so doth Christ's arising in the soul put an
cud to the night of spiritual darkness. Never was the sight of the
day-star so refreshful to the weary traveller in the night, as Christ's
appearance in and to the soul ; only the apostle calls him here ra-
ther the day-star than the sun, because he is speaking of his appear-
ance in this life, whereas the full knowledge of him is deferred till
his second coming. So the day-dawning is easily understood. And
this is expected to rise not absolutely, but comparatively in respect
of degrees of fuller manifestation, as he promises to those that con-
tinue in his word, and are his disciples indeed, that they shall know
the truth, viz. more fully, John viii. 31, 32. And that passage,
Hos. vi. 3. ' Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord :
his going forth is prepared as the morning,' doth excellently serve
to shew us this truth. So there he hath respect to this further ma-
nifestation of Christ which they were afterwards to have : but they
are not then to give over the prophetic word ; for, as was before
noticed, the word until is not always exclusive of the following time,
as Psal. ex. 1. 2 Sam. vi. idt.
Now, if the writings of the prophets be more sure than a voice
from heaven, and Christians are commended for taking heed to the
same ; and when the day-star ariseth in the heart, it shews only the
same thing more clearly. "What place is there left for new revela-
tions against or besides the scriptures ?
Secondly/, The Papists set the church upon the tribunal : but
wliat that church is, they do not agree among themselves, whether
it be the pope, or a council, or both together. However, they assort
that there is in the church a visible and infallible judge of contro-
versies in religion. This we deny, and far more that the pope, or a
council approved by him, is such a judge. For,
52 THE SCOPE OF THE SCRIPTURES.
1. The scripture makes no mention of any such judge, in any of
the places where the officers of the church are reckoned up, as Rom.
xii. 7, 8. 1 Cor. sii. 28. Eph. iv. 11. nor any where else. And
though negative theology, as they say, is not argumentative, yet
that cannot have place here, unless we deny the perfection of the
scripture, which we have proved already. A positive institution is
requisite here.
2. Our faith must not lean upon the testimony or authority of
man, 1 Cor. vii. 23. ' Be not the servants of men,' not bodily but
spiritually ; 2 Cor. i. 24. ' Not that we have dominion over your
faith;' where the apostle declines, in his own name, and in the
name of his fellows, the being of such a judge. But our faith leans
on the word of God, Eph. ii. 20. ' And are built on the foundation
of the prophets,' &c.
3. The doctrine of the church should be examined by the scrip-
tures. Acts xvii. 11. ' These were more noble than those in Thes-
salonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind,
and searched the scriptures daily, whether these things were so.'
Now he whose sentence is to be examined by another, cannot be the
supreme judge of controversies. See Isa. viii. 20. ' To the law and
to the testimony : if they speak not according to this word, it is
because there is no light in them.'
4. Neither pope nor council, conjunctly nor severally, have such
properties as are requisite to constitute a supreme judge in contro-
versies of religion ; they have no infallibility, or testimony thereof ;
yea, they have many ways deceived and been deceived. We may
appeal from them, as being bound to the scriptures, as well as
others. And the church, be what it will, must not be judge in its
own cause.
6. Lastly, Here is a controversy in religion, "Who is the supreme
judge of controversy in religion ? Who must decide this, or be su-
preme judge here ? The church cannot, neither pope nor council
so decide it in their own favour. That were absurd. Wherefore
the Papists themselves are obliged to make another judge of this
controversy ; and if so, why not of all ?
Thirdly, The Socinians set up reason to be the supreme judge of
controversies in religion, to whose determination we ought to stand,
and therein to acquiesce. There is no doubt but we have much use
for reason in matters of religion; as, (1.) To perceive and under-
stand the things revealed in the scripture, Matth. xiii. 51. (2.) To
collate them one with another. Acts xvii. 11. (3.) To explain the
same, Neh. viii. 8. (4.) To argue from the scriptures, Matth. xxi.
xdt. (5.) To vindicate the truths from objections, Rom. ix. 19, 20,
THE SCOPE OF THE SCRIPTURES. 53
That it is not the judge nor the rule, that is, that reason ought not
to be admitted of itself, and according to its principles, to determine
controversies of religion, is what we assert. To illustrate this by
an example, the scripture says, These three are one ; we say we
plainly perceive the scripture says so ; and therefore, though our
reason cannot comprehend, we will believe it, because it is plain the
scripture says so. They say, they cannot believe that there are
three persons in the Grodhead, and not three gods, because reason is
against it ; and therefore finding the thing unagreeable to reason,
though it were in ever so plain words found in the scripture, they
will not believe (as they pretend) it means as the words sound,
but will fasten another meaning on the words though never so far
fetched. And that it may not be thought that this is the same way
that the orthodox go too, in explaining scriptures that are under-
stood figuratively, I shall give an example of that too. The scrip-
ture says, Christ is a vine, a door, the bread is his body, &c. We
know indeed that this is contrary to reason if expounded literally :
but that is not the prime reason why we reject the literal meaning,
and on which we build our faith as to the true meaning, as the case
is with the Sociuians, but because it agrees not with other scrip-
tures to understand it so ; which testify that Christ is Grod and man.
Now, that reason is not the supreme judge of controversies in reli-
gion, is proved by the following arguments.
1. Reason in an unregenerate man is blind in the matters of God,
1 ■ Cor. ii. 14. ' The natural man receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness unto him : neither can he
know them, because they are spiritually discerned ;' Eph. iv. 17, 18.
Eph. V. 8. Except. This only respects reason not illustrated by di-
vine revelation. Aiis. By that illustration of reason by divine re-
velation, they understand either subjective or objective illustration.
If they understand it of subjective illustration, they quit that article
of their religion, wherein they believe that the mind of man is ca-
pable of itself, without the illumination of the Spirit, to attain suf-
ficient knowledge of the mind of God revealed in the scripture. If
of objective illustration, by the mere revelation of these truths, then
it is false that they assert : For the apostle opposes here the natu-
ral man to the spiritual man ; and therefore by the natural man is
understood every unregenerate man, even that has these truths re-
vealed to him ; for, says the apostle, ' they are foolishness unto him.'
Now, how can he judge them foolishness if they be not revealed ?
2. Reason is not infallible, and therefore cannot be admitted
judge in matters concerning our souls. Reason may be deceived.
Rom. iii. 4. and is not this to shake the foundations of religion, and
54 THE SCOPE OF TUB SCUIPTURES.
to pave a way to scepticism and atheism ? Except. That is not to
be feared where sound reason is admitted jndge. But why talk
they of sound reason ? The adversaries themselves will yield, that
reason is unsound in the most part of men. We say, that it is not
fully sound in the world ; for even the best know but in part ; dark-
ness remains in some measure on the minds of all men.
3. Reason must be subject to the scripture, and submit itself to
be judged by God speaking there, 2 Cor. x. 4, 5. ' The weapons of
our warfare are — mighty — to the pulling down of strong holds, cast-
ing down imaginations, — and bringing into captivity every thought
to the obedience of Christ.' Matters of faith are above the sphere
of reason ; and therefore as sense is not admitted judge in those
things that are above it, so neither reason in those things that arc
above it, 1 Tim. iii. 16.
4. If reason were the supreme judge of controversies, then our
faith should be built on ourselves, and the great reason why we be-
lieve any principle of religion would be, because it appears so and
so to us ; which is most absurd. The scripture teaches otherwise,
1 Thess. ii. 13. * Ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is
in truth the word of God.' Most plainly does our Lord teach this,
John V. 34, ' I receive not testimony from men;' chap. v. 39. 'Search
the scriptures.'
Fourthly, The orthodox assert the supreme judge of controversies
in religion to be the Holy Spirit speaking in the scriptures. This
is proved by the following arguments.
1. In the Old and New Testaments, the Lord still sends us to this
judge. So that we may neither turn to the right hand nor left from
what he there speaks, Deut. v. 32. and xvii. 11. ' According to the
sentence of the law which they shall teach thee ;' Is. viii. 20. ' To
the law and to the testimony,' &c. ; Luke xvi. 29. ' They have
Moses and the prophets ; let them hear them;' John v. 39. ' Search
the scriptures.' Some hereto refer that passage, Matth. xix. 28.
' Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me in the re-
generation, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory,
ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of
Israel.' In this sense it must be meant of the doctrine they taught
as dictated to them by the Holy Ghost.
2. It was the practice of Christ and his apostles to appeal to the
Spirit speaking in the scriptures, Matth. iv. where Christ still an-
swers Satan with ihat, ' It is written,' And so while discoursing
with the Sadducees about the resurrection, Matth. xxii. 31, 32. So
also in John, chap. v. and x. and Luke xxiv. 44. And so did
others. Acts xvii. 11. and xxvi. 22, 23. 2 Pet. i. 19. Acts xv. 15,
THE SCOPE OF THE SCRirTURES. 55
IG. A careful examination of which passages I recommend to you
for your establishment in the truth.
3. To the Spirit of God speaking in the scriptures, and to him
only, agree those things that are requisite to constitute one supreme
Judge. (1.) We may certainly know that *the sentence which he
pronounces is true, for he is infallible being God. (2.) We cannot
appeal from him, for he is one above whom there is none. (3.) lie
is no respecter of persons, nor can be biassed in favour of one in
preference to another.
Having discussed the doctrinal part of this subject, I shall now
conclude with two or three inferences.
Inf. 1. People then should diligently read and study the holy
scriptures, in order to their knowing what to believe and what to
do. As the scripture is the only rule and test of faith and obedi-
ence, let us accomplish a diligent search into it, that we may under-
stand all matters to be believed and practised in order to our sal-
vation, and reject every dictate and every precept, come from what
quarter it will, if it be not taught us in the sacred records. We
are not to believe any thing to be an article of faith, or a duty that
we are to perform, unless it has the sanction of the Spirit of God in
the written word, and be enjoined us by that infallible Judge. Let
it then be our daily care and principal study to acquaint ourselves
with the word of God, and draw from that infallible treasury all
our knowledge as to faith and practice.
• 2. How dangerous must it be to maintain opinions and practices
which are evinced to be contrary to the word of God ? IIow
hazardous must be the state of those who hold doctrines contrary to
and eversive of the foundations of Christianity ? Many such doc-
trines are taught and propagated in our day ; such as the tenets of
Socinians and Arians, who degrade the Son of God to the rank of a
mere creature, and deny his supreme Godhead and essential glory,
and impugn his satisfaction ; the Arminians, who overturn the doc-
trine of original sin, assert free will, and stickle for the resistibility
of grace, and other things eversive of the doctrine of the Bible ;
and others who set up creeds, confessions, and covenants of human
manufacture, in the place of the infallible oracles of truth.
3. How worthy of reproof are they who make no conscience of
reading the scriptures ? They seldom look into them, or at most
only on a sabbath-day, without giving attention to what they read ;
and so are grossly ignorant of the first principles of religion.
4. Religion, if it be of the right sort, will be practical religion.
A blind obedience, or ignorant obedience, to some of the duties of
religion is no better than bodily exercise, which profiteth little.
56 THE SCRIPTURES THE BOOK OF THE LORD.
All right obedience flows from a principle of faith in the heart.
True faith will always bo productive of, and accompanied with good
works. And it is in vain for men to say they have religion, unless
they abound in all the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus
Christ unto the praisd and glory of God. Let us then shew our
faith by our works, in having a respect unto all the commands of
Grod, and doing whatsoever he has enjoined us in his word.
THE SCRIPTURES THE BOOK OF THE LORD, AND THE DILIGENT
STUDY AND SEARCH THEREOF RECOMMENDED AND URGED.
Isaiah xxxiv. 16. — Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read: no
one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate : for tny mouth it hath
commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
Having considered the divine authority of the holy scriptures, and
their scope^ I come now to recommend unto you the diligent study
and search of these sacred oracles, from the text now read.
In the former part of this chapter, there are most terrible threat-
enings denounced against the enemies of God and his church, which
receive not their full accomplishment till tlie last day, as appears
from ver. 4, 10. In the text there is the confirmation of the whole.
And therein we have,
1, An intimation that all shall be accomplished according to the
word. Wherein two things are to be observed.
(1.) The study of the word required. Where we may notice, (1.)
The honourable epithet given to it, The book of the Lord. Thus the
holy scripture is called, as being of divine original and authority,
God himself being the author of it. It is true, that in Isaiah's days,
even the canon of the Old Testament was not completed, some of the
historical books, and of the prophetical too, not being then written.
But the body of the doctrine of the word was comprised in the law,
or five books of Moses ; and what was afterwards written, was but a
building on that foundation, by enlargement, explication, and appli-
cation. And this prophecy looking as far as the end of the world,
the Spirit of God might here have an eye to the complete canon of
the Old and New Testament. [2.] The study of it recommended.
Seek out of it. The word signifies to inquire, search, seek out ; and
imports diligence and earnestness in consulting a thing to learn
from it. And so it is emphatically pointed, to denote a vehemency
and iutenseness of spirit in the study. It does in a great measure
THE SCRrPTUUES THE BOOK OF THE LORD. 57
answer that word, Acts xvii. 11 — Searched the scriptures. We are
not only to seek from it, but out of it, or, as the Hebrew sig-
nifies, from in it, or, as in the Greek, to it, and seek from it. [3.]
The way to study, read it. Do not satisfy yourselves to hear it, but
read it with your own eyes. For the eye makes ordinarily deeper
impression than the ear.
(2.) The accomplishment in the most minute circumstance. [l.J
Whereas the Lord had named a great many horrible creatures that
should possess the dwellings of his enemies, none of them shall fail,
they shall all be there. [2.] AVhereas he had said they should have
their mates, that so their kinds might be continued there, none of
them shall luant their mate for that purpose.
2. The confirmation or reason of this accomplishment according to
the word. And it hath two parts, namely, that he has spoken the
one, and will effectuate the other.
(1.) Himself has spoken the word: 3Ii/ mouth it hath commanded.
His truth is engaged for its accomplishment. He has commanded,
not these creatures, but the word or book, as Psal. cv. 8. — The xvord
he commanded : and Grod is said to command his word, for that he
gives it as a lawgiver, of supreme authority. And so this answers
to the first part of the intimation.
(2.) He will effectuate the thing in accomplishment of the word :
His spirit will gather these creatures. So his power is engaged to
make it forthcoming. There seems to be here a remarkable change
of the persons. But I am mistaken if the mouth of the Lord be not
one of the names of Christ in the scripture : Thus, Isa. Ixii. 2. —
'Thou shalt be called by a new name, Avhich the mouth of the Lord
shall name.' .Ter. xxiii. 16. ' They speak — not out of the mouth of
the Lord.' Compare John i. 18. 'No man hath seen God at any
time : the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father,
he hath declared him.' Heb. i. 1, 2. ' God who at sundry times,
and in divers manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.' And
so the words run very plainly and exactly according to the original.
For my mouth he hath commanded, and his Spirit it hath gathered them.
Two doctrines naturally arise from the words, viz.
DocT. I. ' The holy scripture is the book of the Lord.'
DocT. II. ' The scripture is a book to be read, carefully, and dili-
gently searched, consulted, and sought into.'
As it is the last of these doctrines I mainly intend to discourse
upon, I shall be very brief in the illustration of the first : and
though some things to be spoken upon it interfere with what has
58 THE SCRIPTURES THE BOOK OF THE LORD.
been already delivered, I hope it will tend to your establishment in
the truth, and the more endear the holy scripture to you.
DocT. I. ' The holy scripture is the book of the Lord.'
All I intend upon this head is to shew,
I. In what respects the holy scripture is the book of the Lord.
II. That it is so.
III. Make a short improvement.
I. My first province is to shew in what respects the holy scripture
is the book of the Lord.
1. The Lord is the subject-matter of that book, as the book of
the wars of the Lord. It is the commendation of a book, that it
treats of a noble subject ; and this book treats of God, the great
scope of it being to show what God is, and what his will is. Hence
we are commanded to * hold fast the form of sound words,' 2 Tim. i.
13. If we would know God, and our duty to him, we must turn to
this book and learn it.
2. The Lord is the author of it, 2 Tim. iii, 16. ' All scripture is
given by inspiration of God.' And who was fit to make a book on
that noble subject but himself? John i. 18. forecited. It is the
product of his own unerring Spirit, and so his own book in a most
proper sense. It is for this reason that it is called ' the book of the
Lord.' It is true, several hands were employed in the writing of it;
but yet all and every part of it was from the Lord.
(1.) The motion to write was from the Lord, by a particular
impulse on the spirits of the holy penmen, which influenced them to
the work, and carried them on it, 2 Pet. i. 21. ' Holy men of
God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.' Sometimes
they had particular express calls, but they had always this motion
powerfully determining and inclining them to the work.
(2.) The matter of their writing was from him. He laid it to
their hands, 2 Tim. iii. 16. ' All scripture is given by inspiration of
God.' Some things were matters of pure revelation, that could not
be knoAvn otherwise ; such as things past, whereof there was no
manner of record, things to come, things without the reach of men's
knowledge, as the thoughts of others. These things they had by
immediate suggestion. Some things they might have by other re-
cords, their own judgment, or memory. In these the Spirit of the
Lord infallibly guided them what to chuse and refuse, strengthened
their judgment and memories, so that they could not mistake, John
xvi. 13. ' The Spirit of truth — will guide you into all truth.'
(3.) The very words they wrote were from him. Since the apostles
spoke the very words of the Holy Ghost, much more did they write
them, 1 Cor. ii. 13. And therefore God is said to speak by and in
THE SCEIPTURES THE BOOK OK THE LORD. 59
the holy penmen, 2 Sam. xxiii. 2, Luke i. 70. Acts i. 16. He did not
give them the matter to put in their own words, but put the words in
their hearts too, but in a manner suited to their native style. And
truly it is hard to conceive how the inspiration of the holy scrip-
tures could reach the end without it, seeing so much depends on the
suitable expressing of matter.
II. I proceed to shew, that the holy scripture is the book of the
Lord. This is evident from many things, of which I shall only
observe a few.
1. This book discovers what no mortal could ever have done, and
nowise could be had but by divine revelation, as the history of the
creation, what was done before man was on the earth, the sublime
mysteries of the Trinity, of the incarnation of the Son of God, and
the eternal counsels of God concerning man's salvation.
2. The perfect holiness of the doctrine. It commands all holi-
ness, forbids all impurity in heart and life, under the pain of dam-
nation : which shews it could neither be the work of men, being so
far above their reach, and cross to their corrupt nature ; nor of evil
angels, being so opposite to Satan's kingdom ; nor of good ones, who
could never have put a cheat on the world, making their own words
pass for God's.
3. The efficacy of the doctrine in its searching and convincing the
conscience, Heb. iv. 12. ; converting souls from their most beloved
lusts, even when nothing can be expected from the world for such a
change, Psal. xix. 7. ; rejoicing the heart under the deepest dis-
tresses, ver. 8. This is not from any virtue in the letters or syl-
lables, but from the Spirit, whose instrument it is.
4. The miracles wherewith it has been confirmed. These were
wrought to confirm the doctrine, Mat. ix. 6. These are God's seal,
which he will never put to a lie.
5. Lastly, There is an inward sensation of this in the spirits of
those that have their senses exercised. For it is not to be doubted,
but as the works of God bear the marks of a divine hand, so his
word also does. And while there are such manifest differences be-
twixt one voice and another of men, how can it be thought, but the
voice of God has a peculiar signature on it ? If that be not dis-
cerned by others, it is by his own people that know his voice.
I shall now make a short improvement of this point.
Use 1. For information. It informs us, that,
1. The scripture is the best of books. They who heard Christ,
said, ' Never man spake like this man ;' and they that see the true
glory of the scriptures must own, never did any write like these
writings. There we have the true picture of the great Author, in
E 2
60 THE SCRIPTURES THE BOOK OF THE LORD.
spotless holiness ; there the revelation of his mind Avith respect to
our salvation. Whatever other books there be in the world re-
lating to our salvation ; they are but dim tapers lighted at this
burning lamp.
2. They are enemies to God that are enemies to the scriptures,
whether in their principles, as Papists and others, or in their prac-
tices. For if men loved God, they would love his word, Psal. cxix.
97. And men, by their relish of the word, may know what case
their souls are in. For according as they relish the scriptures, so is
it with their souls. If they have lost the gust of them, it is evident
that either they have no grace, or that it is not in exercise.
3. Wo to those whom the Bible condemns ; and these are all
wicked men and hypocrites, whatever their stations or professions
be. But happy they whom it approves and justifies ; and these are
all the sincere seekers of God. Seek to be of the number of the
latter, and then none of the woes denounced in God's word shall fall
upon you.
Use II. Of exhortation.
1. Let us highly prize this book for the sake of the Author. The
Ephesians thought that they had good ground to be zealous for the
image of Diana, because they fancied it fell down from Jupiter, Acts
xix. 35. Your Bible is a book really come from God ; let us be
ashamed we do not prize it more, by using it diligently to the ends
for which it was given the church.
2. Let us believe it in all the parts thereof ; the commands, that
we may study to conform ourselves to them ; the promises, that we
may thereby be encouraged to a holy life; and the threatenings,
that we may thereby be deterred from sin. Alas ! though we own
it to be the word of God, that we are no more moved with it than if
it were the word of man, and such a man as we give little credit to.
For compare the lives of the most part with it they say, it is but
idle tales.
3. Let us submit our souls to it, as the oracles of the living God.
He is the great Lawgiver, and in that book he speaks ; let us own
his authority in his word, and submit to it as the rule of our faith
and life, without disputing or opposing.
4. Lastly, Let us study to be well acquainted with it, and make
it our business to search the scriptures. This brings me to the main
thing I intend.
DocT. 11. " The scripture is a book to be read, carefully and dili-
gently searched, consulted, and sought into."
If ye ask, by whom this is to be done ? it is by all into whose
hands, by the mercy of God, it comes. Some never had it, and so
THE STUDY OF THE SCRIPTUEES ENFORCED. 61
they will not be condemned for slighting it, Rom. ii. 12. Magi-
strates are called to look into it, and be much conversant in it, Josh.
i. 8. ' This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but
thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayst observe
to do according to all that is written therein.' Deut. xvii. 18, 19.
' And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom,
that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that
which is before the priests the Levites. And it shall be with him,
and he shall read therein all the days of his life ; that he may learn
to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law, and
these statutes, to do then*.' Ministers are in a special manner called
to the study of it, 1 Tim. iv. 13. ' Give attendance to reading.' 2
Tim. iii. 16, 17- ' All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and
is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness.' But not they only are so commanded, but all
others within the church, John v. 39. ' Search the scriptures.' Deut.
vi. 6, 7. ' These words which I command thee this day, shall be in
thine heart. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy chil-
dren, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and
when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when
thou risest up.'
In discoursing further from this point, I shall,
I. Explain this seeking into the book of the Lord.
II. Give the reasons of the doctrine.
III. Make application.
1. I am to explain this seeking into the book of the Lord. And
here I will shew,
1. What is presupposed in this seeking.
2, What is the import of a studious inquiry into the scriptures.
First, I am to shew what is presupposed in this seeking into the
book of the Lord. It presupposes,
1. That man has lost his way, and needs direction to find it, Psal.
cxix. 176. ' I have gone astray like a lost sheep ; seek thy servant.'
Miserable man is bemisted in a vain world, which is a dark place,
and has as much need of the scriptures to direct him, as one has of
a light in darkness,' 2 Pet. i. 19. What a miserable case is that
part of the world in that want the Bible ? They are vain in their
imaginations, and grope in the dark, but cannot find the way of sal-
vation. In no better case are those to whom it has not come in
power.
2. That man is in hazard of being led farther and farther wrong.
This made the spouse say, ' Tell me, 0 thou whom my soul loveth,
where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon :
E 3
62 THE STUDY OF THE SCHIPTURES EITFOfiCED.
for why should I be as oue that turneth aside by the flocks of thy
companions ?' There is a subtle devil, a wicked world, corrupt lusts
within one's own breast, to lead him out of the right way, that we
had need to give over, and take this guide. There are many false
lights in the world, which, if followed, will lead the traveller into
a mire, and leave him there.
3. That men are slow of heart to understand the mind of God in
his word. It will cost searching diligently ere we can take it up,
John v. 39. Our eyes are dim to the things of God, our apprehen-
sions dull, and our judgment is weak. And therefore, because the
iron is blunt, we must put too the more^trength. We lost the
sharpness of our sight in spiritual things in Adam ; and our corrupt
wills and carnal affections, that savour not the things of God, do
more blind our judgments : and therefore it is a labour to us to find
out what is necessary for our salvation.
4. That the book of the Lord has its difficulties which are not to
be easily solved. Therefore the Psalmist prays, ' Open thou mine
eyes, that I may see wondrous things out of thy law,' Psal. cxix. 18.
Philip asked the eunuch, ' Understandest thou what thou readest ?
And he said. How can I, except some man should guide me ?'
There are depths there wherein an elephant may swim, and will
exercise the largest capacities, with all the advantages they may be
possessed of. God in his holy providence has so ordered it, to stain
the pride of all glory ; to make his word the liker himself, whom
none can search out to perfection, and to sharpen the diligence of
his people in their inquiries into it.
5. That we need highly to understand it, otherwise we would not
be bidden search into it. ' Of the times and seasons (says the
apostle), ye have no need that I write unto you ;' and therefore he
wrote not of them. There is a treasure in this field ; we are called
to dig for it ; for tho' it be hid, yet we must have it, or we will pine
away in our spiritual poverty.
6. Lastly, That we may gain from it by diligent inquiry. The
holy humble heart will not be always sent empty away from these
wells of salvation, when it plies itself to draw. There are shallow
places in these waters of the sanctuary, where lambs may wade.
Secondly, I proceed to shew what is the import of a studious in-
quiry into the scriptures. This holds out the matter and manner of
the duty.
First, As for the matter of the duty; it lies in. three things.
1. "We should be capable to read the scriptures distinctly. Alas!
How shall they study the book of God that cannot so much as read
it? Isa. xxix. 12. It is sad to think that there are among Chris-
THE STUDY OF THE SCRIPTDRES ENFORCED. 63
tians who call God their Father, and cannot read his testament ;
who say they would be at heaven, and yet cannot consult the direc-
tions for the way. And if their parents have neglected to teach
them, they have not the grace to make up that by their own in-
dustry. Their case is little better that cannot read it distinctly ;
for without that there can be little benefit got by it. Neh. viii. 8.
2. We should acquaint ourselves with the letter of the scriptures,
the histories, prophecies, precepts, &c. This Timothy is commended
for, ' that from a child he had known the holy scriptures,' 2 Tim.
iii. 15. That is tlie sacred field where the treasure lies ; the blessed
body, where the soul of the scripture lodgeth ; the words wherein
the mind of God towards sinners is held forth. Mat. xiii. 52.
3. We ought to labour to understand the mind of God in them,
and that savingly and spiritually. Wisdom lies in the book of the
Lord ; and see what course we should take to get at it, Prov. ii. 4,
5. ' If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid
treasures : then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord ; and
find the knowledge of God.' To read the scriptures just for read-
ing's sake, without labouring to understand what ye read, is very
unprofitable work. Nay we should search narrowly till we find the
sense and meaning of what we read, as one that digs deep, breaks
the clods of earth, till he finds the golden ore.
Secondly, As to the manner of the duty ; it imports,
1. A high esteem of the treasure to be found in the book of the
Lord, Matth. xiii. 44. People will not be at the pains to seek into
what they do not value. If men did not prize gold, they would not
rip up the bowels of the earth for it. It is the undervaluing of the
scriptures that makes people so little to study and seek into them.
2. A design of spiritual profit by the scripture. No wise man
will be at pains but to gain thereby. And he that would aright
study the holy scriptures, must design his soul's advantage thereby.
We shduld come to the reading of the book of the Lord, as to a
soul-feast, Psal. cxix. 131 ; as to the gathering of spoil after battle,
Psal. cxix. 162. Some read the scriptures to fuitiish their heads
with notions of the things of religion, and their tongues with talk
about them ; but read ye for holiness to your hearts, and to rule
your walk thereby. Some read them to support their errors, and
some for matter of jest and drollery ; which are horrible work.
But ' search ye the scriptures : for in them ye will Jind eternal life ;
and they arc they that testify of Christ,' John v. 39.
3. A serious application of the heart to the work ; for it will not
be a by-hand work, Psal. i. 2. In the scriptures God speaks to us,
as in prayer we speak to God ; and when God speaks, we should
64 THE STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES ENFORCED.
listen attentively. The angels pry into scripture-mysteries, 1 Pet.
i. 12. So should we into the scriptures, James i. 25.
4. Painfulness in the study. Silver and gold are not to be gathered
up by every lazy passenger from the surface of the earth, as stones
are, but must with labour be digged out of the bowels of it, Prov. ii.
4. forecited. This is the gate of heaven ; and there must be striv-
ing to get in at it. It is not easy to overcome a dark, carnal, hard
heart, which unfits us for the study of the scriptures. And indeed
many get but little advantage by their reading it ; for dig they can-
not, and beg they will not ; and therefore they go empty from these
wells of salvation.
5. Diligence and constancy, 1 Pet. i. 10. It is the hand of the
diligent that maketh rich in all cases, while drousiness cloaths a
man with rags. See the duty of a Christian with respect to the
word, Psal. i. 2. ' His delight is in the law of the Lord ; and in his
law doth he nieditato day and night.' He suffers not his Bible to
gather dust.
Lastly, A thorough search. We should go through every leaf of
the book of the Lord, and endeavour to acquire the knowledge of
the whole scriptures. For ' All scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness,' 2 Tim. iii. 16. Some never read all
the Bible in their days, but pick out portions here and there only.
Searchers do not so, but look into every corner. And we should
labour to know more and more of what we have some insight into :
for this Bible says one, contains a puncheon that hitherto has not
been pierced.
II. The next general head is, to give the reasons of the point,
that the book of the Lord should be read, carefully and diligently
searched, consulted, and sought into.
1. Because the way of salvation is to be found only therein, John
V. 39. forecited. This is the star risen in a dark world, to guide us
where Christ is. All the researches of the wise men of the world,
all the inventioilfe of men, can never guide us to Immanuel's land,
John i. 18. ' No man has seen God at any time, the only begotten
Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.'
Here, and here only, the counsels of God touching man's salvation
are discovered. And so, as salvation is the most necessary thing,
the study of the scriptures is the most necessary exercise. To
slight it, is to judge ourselves unworthy of eternal life. v
2. It is the only rule of our faith and lives, Isa. viii. 20. ' To
the law and to the testimony : if they speak not according to this
word, it is because there is no light in them,' Eph. ii. 20. ' Ye are
THE STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES ENFORCED. 65
built upon tlie foundation of the j)ropbets and apostles, Jesus
Christ himself being the chief corner-stone,' Rev. xxii. 18, 19. ' I
testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of
this book. If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add
unto him the plagues that are written in this book : and if any man
shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God
shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy
city, and from the things which are written in this book.' The
Bible is the pattern shewn on the mount, to which our faith and
lives must be conformed, if we would please God. The Lord says
to us, as Dent, xxviii. 14. ' Thou shalt not go aside from any of the
words which I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the
left.' None can walk regularly unless they observe the rule ; but
how can one observe it unless he know it ? Matt. xxii. 29. God
has given each of us our post in the world : the Bible is the book of
our instructions ; and shall we not study it ? The lawyer studies
his law-books, the physician his medical books ; and shall not a
Christian study the book of the Lord ?
3. The Lord himself dictated it, and gave it us for that very end,
2 Tim. iii. 16, 17- forecited, Rom. v. 4. ' Whatsoever things were
written aforetime were written for our learning.' And has the
Spirit of the Lord written it, and will not we read it ? Has he
given it us to be studied by us, and will we slight it ? This must
be horrid contempt of God, and ingratitude to him with a witness,
"Whose image and superscription is this on the scriptures ? Is it
not the Lord's ? Then take it up and read.
4. We must be judged by the scriptures at the great day, John
xii. 48. That is one of the books opened, Rev. xx. 12. This is the
book of the Lord's laws and ordinances, by which he will proceed in
absolving or condemning us. I own God will go another way to
work with those who never had the Bible, Rom. ii. 12. But know
thou, that seeing it is in the country where thou livest, though thou
never readest a letter of it, thou must be judged by it. Is there
not good reason then for reading the scriptures ?
III. I proceed now to the practical improvement of this import-
ant subject.
Use I. Of information. It lets ns see,
1. The necessity and advantage of translations of the scriptures
into the vulgar languages, as I have formerly shewn.
2. The people not only may without any licence from the church-
guides, but must read the scriptures, for God has commanded it.
The Papists here take away the key of knowledge ; for their king-
dom riscth and standeth by darkness, aiid ignorance of the scrip-
tures.
66 THE STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES ENFORCED.
3. The scriptures, whatever difficulties be in thera, yet are so
plain in things necessary to salvation, that even the unlearned may
reap advantage by reading them.
Use II. Of exhortation. I exhort one and all of you to the study
of the holy scriptures, to seek out of the hook of the Lord, and read.
I will lay this before you in several branches, before I come to the
motives.
1. Let such as cannot read, learn to read. Ye that have chil-
dren, as ye tender their immortal souls, teach them to read the
Bible. Remember therefore the vows taken upon you at their
baptism, and the duty laid upon you by the Lord himself, Eph. vi.
4. ' Fathers, bring up your children in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord,' 2 Tim. iii. 15. Timothy from a child knew the lioly
scriptures. Ye who got no learning when ye were young, labour to
get it now. Alas ! some parents, or others that have had some
when young with them, have been cruel to their souls, as the ostrich
to her young. They have learned them to work, but have been at
no pains to teach them to read ; so have sent them out into the
world a prey to the devourer's teeth, without the ordinary means of
the knowledge of God. Thus they are destroyed with gross ig-
norance.
But will ye pity your own souls, though others did not that
brought you up ? And do not enter yourselves heirs to their sin,
by being as negligent of yourselves as they were. Though perhaps
they left you nothing to live upon, yet for a livlihood ye have done
something for your bodies. And will you do nothing for your souls ?
Think not it will excuse thee at the hand of God, that thou art a
servant ; for thy soul is in as great danger as thy master's, and ig-
norance of religion will destroy it, Is. xxvii. 11. There are few but
know how to improve the scarcity of servants to the raising of the
fee ; but will you improve it by getting it in your condition to learn
to read, and seek out such families where you may have that advan-
tage, for some such there are, like Abraham's, Gen. xviii. 10. Nay
rather than not do it, give over service for a time, and learn.
Neither will it excuse you that now you have a family ; for you
have an immortal soul still, which gross ignorance of the mind of
God in the scriptures will ruin eternally, 2 Thess. i. 8. And the
more need you have to read the scriptures, that you have a family,
that you may know the Lord's mind yourself, and teach it your fa-
mily. Such an excuse will no more screen you from everlasting
destruction, than covering yourself with leaves will save you from
the flames of a devouring fire.
Sav not vou are too old now to learn. It is never out of time to
THE STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES ENFORCED. 07
learn to do well for your eternal salvation. If your eyes can serve
you to learn, you ought to do it, whatever your age be. But if your
sight be so far gone, that you cannot though you were ever so wil-
ling; then tremble at the thoughts of the awful judgment of God,
that has taken away sight from you, that when you had it would
not use it for his glory, and the good of your own soul ; and humble
thyself, and apply to the blood of Christ, for this thy neglect, lest
it prove ruining to thee for ever. And cause others read to you,
and beg the teaching of the Spirit, if so be such an old careless
slighter of salvation may find mercy.
2. Let such as can read procure Bibles. I dare say one that has
a love to the Bible (and that all who love the Lord have) will make
many shifts ere they want one. But they must be lawful shifts :
for stealing of Bibles, or keeping them up from the owners, is like
a thief stealing a rope to hang himself in. But spare it off your
bellies or your backs, and procure one rather than want.
3. Let such as have Bibles read them frequently, and acquaint
themselves with the book of the Lord. Read them in your families
morning and evening ; and read them in secret by yourselves ; it
should be a piece of your duties in secret. Make the Bible your
companion abroad and at home, in the house and in the field. It is
lamentable to think how unacquainted with the Bible many are,
and how little heart they have to it. Ballads and song-books get
the place of the Bible with many ; and many have no use for it but
once in the week, on the sabbath-day, as if it were more for a shew
with them than the necessity of their souls.
4. Lastlij, Not only read it, but search into it, and study it, to
know the mind of God therein, and that ye may do it. Be not su-
perficial in your reading of the scriptures, but do it with application,
painfulness, and diligence ; using all means to read it with under-
standing ; breaking through the surface that ye may come at the
hid treasure therein. Reading as well as praying by rote is to little
purpose : for a parcel of bare words will neither please God, nor
edify your own souls.
I shall now give some motives to enforce this important duty of
reading the scriptures.
Mot. 1. God requires it of us, he commands us to do it, John v.
39. ' Search the scriptures.' The Jews had once the scriptures com-
mitted to them ; but did God design they should only have thera in
the temple ? nay, in their houses also : Only laid up in the ark ?
nay, he designed another chest for them, even their hearts. Dent. vi.
6, 7. formerly cited. Let the authority of God sway you, then, and
a.s you have any regard to it, study the scriptures.
68 THE STUDY OP THE SCRIPTURES ENFORCED.
Mot. 2. Nay, the very being of the Bible among us is enough to
move us to study it, seeing it is that by which we must stand or fall
for ever. The proclaiming of the law publicly is sufficient to oblige
the subjects ; and they cannot plead ignorance, though they get not
every one a copy of it. Ignorantia juris exciisat neminem ; for every
one ought to know the rule of his duty. And sinners will be con-
demned by it, if they conform not to it, whether they knew it or not,
John iii. 19.
Mot. 3. It is an exercise very pleasing to God, so that it be done
in a right manner, namely, in faith. For thereby God speaks to us,
and we hear and receive his words at his mouth ; and obedient ears
are his delight.
1. The Spirit of God commends it. It was the commendation of
the Bereans, Acts xvii. 11. of Apollos, chap xviii. 24. of Timothy,
2 Tim. iii. 15. And why does the Spirit of God commend others for
this, but to recommend the scriptures to us ?
2. There is a particular blessing annexed to this exercise. Rev. i.
3. ' Blessed is he that readeth.' And the children of God in all
ages have sucked the sap of it, while they have had sweet fellowship
with God in his word, and the influences of the Spirit, to the quick-
ening, enlightening, fructifying and comforting their souls,
Mot. 4. Consider what a great privilege it is, that we have the
scriptures to read and study, at this day. If Christ had not died
for our salvation, the world had never been blessed with this glori-
ous light, but had been in darkness here, as a pledge of eternal
darkness. Let us compare our case with that of others, and see our
privilege.
1. Look back to the case of the church in its first age before the
flood, or the time of Moses, while they had not the written word.
The will of God was revealed to some of them by visions, voices,
dreams, &c. ; but we may say, as 2 Pet. i. 19. ' We have a more
sure word of prophecy.' But that was not the lot of all, but of a
few among them; the rest behoved to learn by tradition. Now
every one has alike access to the word of divine revelation.
2. Look to the case of the church under the Old Testament. In
David's time there was little more than the five books of Moses
written ; yet how does that holy soul swell in commendation of his
little Bible, when little more than the ground-work of this glorious
structure was laid ! Psal. cxix. j^er tot. Take that church at her
best in this respect, when the canon of the Old Testament was com-
pleted, they saw not the light of the New. Now the whole canon of
the scripture is in our hands, this glorious image of God has got the
finishing stroke ; no more is to be added thereto for ever. The New
THE STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES ENFORCED. 69
Testament casts a light upon the types, shadows, and dark pro-
phecies of the Old. And shall we not be sensible of our mercy ?
3. But look abroad into the Pagan world at this day, in compari-
son of which all that know any part of the scriptures are but few,
and the Bible is not heard of among them. That precious treasure
is not opened to them to this day, and they can know no more of
God but what they can learn from the dark glimmerings of nature's
light. 0 may we not in some sort say, as Psal. cxlvii. 19, 20. ' He
sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto
Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation : and as for. his judg-
ments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord.'
4. Look back but a few years hence, when no Bibles were but
such as were manuscript, namely, before the art of printing was
found out, which was but a little before the reformation from
Popery. How rare behoved they then to be ! and how dear, ye may
easily perceive. But now how common and easy are they to be had ?
6. Look to the case of those that lived, or yet live, under Popish
tyranny, where it is a crime to have or to read the Bible without a
special licence. What a strxiggle had our reformers in this church,
ere they could get allowance by the laws of the land to read the
Bible in English ? And how is the Bible kept out of the people's
hands to this day in Popish countries ? Whereas now ye are
pressed to read and study it. A New Testament was very precious
in those days of Popish persecution, when one gave a cart-load of
hay for a leaf of the Bible. But, alas ! as one says of the French
Protestants, When they burned us for reading the scriptures, we
burned in zeal to be reading them ; now with our liberty is bred
also negligence and disesteem of Grod's word.
6. Lastly, Consider the many helps there are to understand the
scriptures beyond what were formerly. Many have run to and fro,
and knowledge that- way has been increased, both by preaching
and writing. And that useful exercise of lecturing, which our
church has commanded to be of a large portion of scripture, is no
small help. What will we be able to answer to the Lord, if this
great privilege be slighted ?
Mot. 5. Consider it has been the way of the people of God, to be
much addicted to and conversant in the scripture. So true is it
that wisdom is justified of her children. 0 take heed yo go forth
by the footsteps of the flock, and ye will not find them in the way
of slighting, but prizing the word of God. Consider,
1. Te shall find the saints highly prizing the word, Psal. xix. &
cxix. what large commendations of the word are there ! How sweet
was it to Jeremiah ! chap. xv. 16. ' Tliy words were found, and I did
70 THE STUDY OP THE SCRIPTURES ENFORCED.
cat them ; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my
heart.' Peter, who heard the voice on the mount, yet prefers the
scriptures to voices from heaven, 2 Pet. i. 19. Paul speaks highly
of it, 2 Tim. iii. 16. ' All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruc-
tion in righteousness.' The martyrs highly prized it, and ventured
their lives for it. One cast away at sea, and swimming for his life
on a mast, having five pounds, which was all his stock, in the one
hand, and a Bible in the other, and being obliged to let go one of
them, kept the Bible, and let the five pounds go.
2. Ye shall find them much addicted to the study of the word.
It was David's companion and bosom oracle, Psal. cxix. 97- Daniel
at Babylon searches the scriptures of the prophets, Dan. ix. 2. So
did the noble Bereans, Apollos, and Timothy.
3. Yea, the Spirit of God makes it the character of a godly man,
Psal. i. 2. ' His delight is in the law of the Lord ; and in his law
doth he meditate day and night.' 0 how rational is that ! The
man that is born of God has a natural desire after the word, as the
child after the mother's breast, 1 Pet. ii. 2. The new nature tends
to communion with God ; it is by the word the soul has communion
with him, for thereby God speaks to us. And therefore it is a sad
sign, that there are few true Christians, while there are so few that
diligently ply the word.
Mot. 6. Consider the excellency of the scriptures. There is a
transcendent glory in them, which whoso discerns cannot miss to hug
and embrace them. To commend the Bible to you, I shall say these
eight things of it.
1. It is the best of books. They may know much, ye think, that
have many good books ; but have ye the Bible, and ye have the best
book in the world. It is the book of the Lord, dictated by urferring
infinite wisdom. There is no dross here with the gold, no chaff with
the corn. Every word of God is pure. There is nothing for our
salvation to be had in other books, but what is learned from this.
They are but the rivulets that run from this fountain, and all shine
with light borrowed from thence. And it has a blessing annexed to
it, a glory and majesty in it, an efficacy with it, that no other book
has the like. Therefore Luther professed he would burn his books
he had writ, rather than they should divert people from reading the
scriptures.
2. It is the greatest and most excellent of the works of God to be
seen in the world, Psal. cxxxviii. 2. If the world beautified with
sun, moon, and stars, be as a precious ring, the Bible is the diamond
in the ring. The sparkling stars, and that glorious globe of light
THE STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES EXFORCED. 71
the sun, yet leave but a dark world, where there is no Bible.
Were it put to the choice of the saints, either to put the sun out of
the firmament, or the Bible out of the world, they would chuse the
former, but never the latter ; for that they cannot want till they go
there where they shall read all in the face of Jesus. For that must
needs be most excellent that has most of God in it.
3. It is the oracles of God, Rom. iii. 2. This was the chief of the
Jewish privileges, without which their temple, altar, &c. would
have been but dumb signs. The Pagan world did highly reverence
and prize the devil's oracles : but Ave have God's oracles, while we
have the scriptures that manifest to us the secrets of heaven. And
if we discern aright who sj)eaks in them, we must say. The voice of
God, and not of man. Here is what you may consult safely in all
your doubts and darknesses ; here is what will lead you into all
truth.
4. It is the laws of heaven, Psal. xix. 7- The Lord and King of
heaven is our great Lawgiver, and the laws are written in this book.
It concerns us to study it. Hence we must prove our title to hea-
ven, the blessed inheritance, or we will never obtain it. From
thence the sentence of our justification must be drawn, else we are
still in a state of wrath. Here is the rule we must follow, that we
may please God here ; and from this book shall the sentence of our
absolution or condemnation be drawn at the great day.
6. It is Christ's testament and latter-will, 1 Cor. xi. 25. Our
Lord has died, and he has left us this Bible as his testament ; and
that makes his children have such an aflfection to it. Herein he has
left them his legacy, not only moveables, but the eternal inherit-
ance ; and his last will is now confirmed, that shall stand for ever
without alteration. So, all the believer's hopes are in this Bible,
and this is the security he has for all the privileges he can lay claim
to. This is his charter for heaven, the disposition by which he lays
claim to the kingdom. And therefore, if ye have any interest in
the testament, ye must needs not be slighters of it.
6. It is the sceptre of his kingdom, Psal. ex. 2. and it is a sceptre
of righteousness. It is by this word he rules his church, and guides
all his children in their way to the land that is far off. Wherever
he hath a kingdom, he wields it ; and the nations subjecting them-
selves to him, receive it. And where he rules one's heart, it has
place there too, Col. iii. 16. It is a golden sceptre of peace,
stretched forth to rebels to win them by offering them peace ; to
fainting believers, to give them peace. And whosoever will not
subject themselves to it, shall be broken with his rod of iron.
7. It is the channel of influences, by which the communications of
72 THE STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES ENFORCED,
grace are made, and the Avaters of the sanctuary flow into the soul,
Isa. lix. ult. The apostle appeals for this to the experience of the
Galatians, chap iii. 2. ' Received ye the Spirit by the law, or by the
hearing of faith ?' Is the elect soul regenerated ? the word is the
incorruptible seed, whereof the new creature is formed, 1 Pet. i. 23.
Is faith begotten in the heart ? it is by the word, Rora. x. 17- ' Faith
coraeth by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.' Is the new
creature to be nourished, strengthened, quickened, actuated, &c. ?
Christ is the fountain, faith the mouth of the soul, the word the
pipes of conveyance, whereat faith must suck, as the child at the
nipples. s'
8. Lastly, Iii is the price of blood even the blood of Christ, 1 Cor.
xi. 25. Had not the personal Word become flesh, and therein died
to purchase redemption for us, we had never seen this written word
among us. For it is the book of the covenant which is founded on
the blood of the Mediator. It is the grant and conveyance of the
right to the favour of God, and all saving benefits to believers ; for
which there could have been no place had not Christ died. And
they that slight it, will be found to tread under foot the blood of
the covenant.
Mot. 7. Consider the usefulness of the word. If we consider the
Author, we may be sure of the usefulness of the work. The apostle
tells us, that it alone is suflicient to make the man of God perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works, 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17- There
is no case a soul can be in, but it is suitable to their case, that de-
sire to make use of it. To commend it to you from its usefulness,
I will say these eight things.
1. It is a treasure to the poor, and such are we all by nature,
Rev. iii. 17- 2 Cor. iv. 7- Therefore the Lord bids us search the
scriptures, in allusion to those that search in mines for silver and
gold. If the poor soul search here, receiving the word by faith, he
is made up. He shall find there the discharge of his debt, a new
right and title to the mortgaged inheritance. This word of the
Lord is a treasure,
(1.) For worth. People make not treasures of any but valuable
things. There is nothing in the scriptures but what is highly valu-
able. There are the eternal counsels of God touching our salvation;
life and immortality brought to light ; there are the purest percepts,
the most awful threatenings, and the most precious promises, 2 Pet.
i. 4, &c.
(2.) For variety. In the scriptures shines the manifold wisdom
of God. They that nauseate this book of the Lord, because they
find not new things in it after some time perusing it, discover their
THE STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES ENFORCED. 73
senses not to be exercised to discern. For should we come to it
ever so often, bringing fresh affections with us, we would find fresh
entertainment there ; as is evident by the glorious refreshment
sometimes found in a word, that has been often gone over before
without any thing remarkable. And truly the saints shall never
exhaust it while here ; but as new discoveries are made in it in se-
veral ages, so it will be to the end.
(3.) For abundance. There is in it not only for the present, but
for the time to come, Isa. xlii. 23. There is abundance of light, in-
struction, comfort, &c. and what is needful for the saints travelling
heavenward, Psal. cxix. 162. And indeed it is the spoil to be ga-
thered by us. Our Lord having fought the battle against death and
devils, here the spoil lies to be gathered by us thft remained at
home when the fight was.
(4.) Lastly, For closeness. This word contains the wisdom of
God in a mystery. It is a hid book to most of the world, and in-
deed a sealed book to those that remain in their natural blindness.
Nor can we get into the treasure without the illumination of the
same Spirit which dictated it, 1 Cor. ii. 10. There is a path here
which the vulture's eye hath not seen, which the carnal eye cannot
take up, ver. 14. Therefore have we need to seek diligently, and
pray, as Psal. cxix. 18. ' Open thou mine eyes, that I may see won-
drous things out of thy law.'
2. It is life to the dead : ' The words that I speak unto you (says
Christ), they are spirit, and they are life,' John vi. 63. We are
naturally dead in sins ; but the word is the means of spiritual life.
It is the ordinary means of conversion, Psal. xix. 7- ' The law of
the Lord — converteth the soul ;' and of regeneration, 1 Pet. i. 23.
' Being born again of incorruptible seed by the word of God.' By
it the soul is persuaded into the covenant, and brought to embrace
Jesus Christ. For thereby the Spirit is communicated to the elect
of God. Thus it is of use to bring sinners home to God, from under
the power of darkness to the kingdom of his dear Son,
3. It is light to the blind, Psal. xix. 8. * The commandment of
the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.' It is a convincing light,
to discover one's state to him, and so to rouse up the soul from its
natural security. It pierces the heart as an arrow, and makes the
careless sinner stand and consider his way : for it freely tells every
one his faults, Jam. i. 25. And while the child of God travels
through a dark world, it serves to light him the way, 2 Pet. i. 19. —
' a light shining in a dark place ;' and lets him see how to set down
every step. Hence David says, ' Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
and a light unto my path,' Psal. cxix. 105.
p
74 THE .STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES ENFORCED.
4. It is awakening to those that are asleep, Cant. vii. 9. It is
the voice of God which is full of majesty, to awaken the sleepy
Christian to the exercise of grace. For as it is the means of beget-
ting grace in the heart, so it is also the means of actuating and
quickening thereof, Psal. cxix. 50. * Thy word hath quickened me.'
Here the Christian may hear the alarm sound to rise up and be
doing. Here are the precious promises as cords of love to draw,
and the awful threatenings to set idlers to work.
6. It is a sword to the Christian soldier, Eph. vi. 17. ' The
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.' Whoever has a
mind for heaven must fight liis way to it : for none get the crown
but the conquerors, Rev. iii. 21. They must go through many temp-
tations, from the devil, the world, and the flesh ; and the word is
the sword for resisting them. It is an off"ensive and defensive
weapon. We see how our Lord Jesus wielded it, Mat. iv. 4, 7- ' It
is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. — It is written again. Thou
shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.' And whatever be our tempta-
tions, if we be well versed in the word, we may from thence bring
answers to them all.
6. It is a counsellor to those who are in straits, doubts, and diffi-
culties, Psal. cxix. 24. ' Thy testimonies are — my counsellors.'
. Many a time the children of God, when tossed with doubts and fears,
have found a quiet harbour there ; and have got their way cleared
to them there, when they knew not what to do. And no doubt, if
we were more exercised unto godliness, and looking to the Lord in
our straits, we would make more use of the Bible, as the oracles of
Heaven.
7. It is a comforter to those that are cast down, Psal. cxix. 49,
50. ' Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast
caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction : for thy
word hath quickened me.' The way to heaven lies through many
tribulations, and afflictions are the trodden path to glory. But the
Lord has left his people the Bible as a cordial to support them
under all their pressures from within and without. And indeed the
sap of the word, and the sweetness of the promises, are never more
lively relished, than when the people of God are exercised under
afflictions. Then does that heavenly fountain flow most plentifully,
when, created streams being dried up, the soul goes for all to the
Lord. To sum up all in one word,
8. Lastli/, It is a cure for all diseases of the soul, Prov. iv. 22.
' My words are — health to all their flesh.' Tliere is no malady that
a soul is under, but there is a suitable remedy for it in the word, 2
THE STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES ENFORCED. 75
Tim. iii. 16, 17- frequently quoted above, being adapted by infinite
wisdom to the case of poor sinners. By it tlie simple may be made
wise, the weak strengthened, the staggering confirmed, the hard
heart melted, the shut heart opened, &c. it being the means the
Spirit makes use of for these and all other such purposes.
Mot. 8. Consider the honourable epithets given to the scriptures.
Amongst which I name only three.
1. The scriptures of truth, Dan. x. 21. Men may wrest the scrip-
tures to patronise their errors, but the whole word of God is most
pure truth. Here are no mistakes, no weaknesses, that adhere to
all human composures. Here we may receive all that is taught us
without hesitation. The hearers of men, or readers of their works,
arc divided into four sorts : Some like spunges, that suck up all,
both good and bad : Some like sand glasses, who, what they receive
at the one ear let go at the other : Some like 0 strainer, that lets
all the good pass through, but keeps the dregs : Some like the sieve,
that keeps the good grain, and lets through what is not worth.
These last are only to be approved ; but in the reading of the word
we must be as the first sort.
2. Holy scriptures, 2 Tim. iii. 15. They are the word of a holy
God, from whom nothing can come but what is holy. It consists of
holy commands, holy promises, holy threatenings, instructions, di-
rections, &c. And holy hearts will love and reverence them for
that very reason.
3. Lastly, The book of the Lord. "What can be said more to com-
mend it to us, if we have any regard to the Lord himself? If i
could tell you of a book that fell down from heaven, and were to
be had by any means, who would not be curious to have such a
book and study it ? This is the book that contains the counsels of
Heaven, and is given from Heaven to the church, to let men see the
way to it.
Mot. last. Consider the danger of slighting the word. It exposes
to sin, and consequently to the greatest danger. How can they
keep the way of the word that do not study to acquaint themselves
with it ? They must needs walk in darkness that do not make use
of the light; and this leads to everlasting darkness, John iii. 19.
If by this word we must be judged, how can they think to stand
that neglect it ?
I conclude with some directions for the study of the scriptures.
1. Keep an ordinary in reading them, that ye may be ac-
quainted with the whole ; and make this reading a part of your
secret duties. Not that ye should bind up yourselves to an ordi-
nary, so as never to read by choice, but that ordinarily this tends
f2
76
THE STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES ENFORCED.
most to edification. Some places are more difficult, some may seem
very bare for an ordinary reader ; but if you would look on it all
as God's word, not to be slighted, and read it with faith and rever-
ence, no doubt ye would find advantage.
2. Set a special mark, one way or other, on those passages you
read, which you find most suitable to your case, condition, or temp-
tations ; or such as ye have found to move your hearts more than
other passages. And it will be profitable often to review these.
3. Compare one scripture with another, the more obscure with
what which is more plain, 2 Pet. i. 20. This is an excellent means
to find out the sense of the scriptures ; and to this good use serve
the marginal notes on Bibles. And keep Christ in your eye, for to
him the scriptures of the Old Testament (in its genealogies, types,
and sacrifices) look, as well as those of the New.
4. Read with a%)ly attention, arising from the consideration of
the majesty of God, and the reverence due to him. This must be
done with attention, (1.) To the words ; (2.) To the sense : and (3.)
To the divine authority of the scripture, and the bond it lays on
the conscience for obedience, 1 Thess. ii. 13.
5. Let your main end in reading the scriptures be practice, and
not bare knowledge, Jam. i. 22. Read that you may learn and do,
and that without any limitation or distinction, but that whatever
you see God requires, you may study to practise.
6. Beg of God and look to him for his Spirit. For it is the
Spirit that dictated it, that it must be savingly understood, 1 Cor.
4i. 11. And therefore before you read, it is highly reasonable you
beg a blessing on what you are to read.
7- Beware of a worldly fleshly mind : for fleshly sins blind the
mind from the things of God ; and the worldly heart cannot favour
them. In an eclipse of the moon the earth comes between the sun
and the moon, and so keeps the light of the sun from it. So the
world, in the heart, coming betwixt you and the light of the word,
keeps its divine light from you.
8. Labour to be exercised unto godliness, and to observe your
case. For an exercised frame helps mightily to understand the
scriptures. Such a Christian will find his case in the word, and the
word will give light to his case, and his case light into the word.
9. Lastly, Whatever you learn from the word, labour to put it in
practice. For to him that hath shall be given. No wonder they get
little insight into the Bible, who make no conscience of practising
what they know. But while the stream runs into a holy life, the
fountain will be the more free.
or GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS. 77
OF GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS.
John iv. 24. — God is a Spirit.
SiMONiDES, a heathen poet, being asked by Hiero king of Syracuse,
WTiat is God ? desired a day to think upon it ; and when that day
was at an end, he desired two days ; and when these were past, he
desired four days. Thus he continued to double the number of days
in which he desired to think of God, ere he would giye an answer.
Upon which the king expressing his surprise at his behaviour, asked
him. What he meant by this ? To which the poet answered, ' The
more I think of God, he is still the more dark and unknown to me.'
Indeed no wonder that he made such an answer ; for he that would
tell what God is in a measure suitable to his excellency and glory,
had need to know God even as he is known \)f him, which is not
competent to any man upon earth. Agur puzzles the whole crea-
tion with that sublime question. What is his name ? Prov. xxx. 4.
But though it is impossible in our present state to know God per-
fectly, seeing he is incomprehensible ; yet so much of him is re-
vealed in the scriptures as is necessary for us to know in order to
our salvation.
The text tells us, and it should be remembered, that the Lord
Jesus, the Son of God, who lay in the bosom of the Father, and who
only can reveal him, is here the speaker, that God is a Spint. It is
but little of the nature of spirits that we, who dwell in tabernacles
of clay, are so intimately connected with flesh and blood, and so
naturally impressed with sensible objects, can know. We cannot
fully understand what our own spirits or souls are ; and less do we
know of the nature of angels, who are of a superior nature to us ;
and far less can we know of the spiritual nature of the Divine
Being, which is utterly incomprehensible by men or angels. How-
ever, as all our ideas begin at what is infinite, in considering the
nature of spirits, so we are led to conceive of God as infinitely more
perfect than any finite spirit*. All we can know of spirits is,
* It will not be improper here to subjoin' the following observation of the celebrated
Mr. Addison. ' If we consider the idea which wise men, by the light of reason, have
framed of the Divine Being, it amounts to this, That he has in him all the perfections
of a spiritual nature ; and since we have no notion of any kind of s-piritual perfection
but what we discover in our own souls, we join infinitude to each kind of these per-
fections, and what is a faculty in a human soul becomes an attribute in God. We
exist in place and time, the Divine Being fills the immensity of space with his pre-
sence, and inhabits eternity. We are possessed with a little power and a little know-
F 3
78 OF OOl) AND IirS PERFECTIONS.
1. That a spirit is the most perfect and excellent of beings, more
excellent than the body, or any thing that is purely material.
2. That a spirit is in its own nature immortal, having nothing in
its frame and constitution tending to dissolution or corruption.
3. That a spirit is capable of understanding, willing, and putting
forth actions agreeable to its nature, which no other being can do.
Now these conceptions of the nature of spirits lead us to conceive
of God,
1. As a being tliat is more perfect and excellent than all other
spirits and beings. Hence he is said to be incorruptible, Rom. i. 23. ;
immortal and invisible, 1 Tim. i. 17- He has understanding and will ;
and so we conceive of him as the creator and governor of all things ;
which he could not be, if he were not an intelligent and sovereign
spirit.
2. Though angels and the souls of men are spirits, yet their ex-
cellency is only comparative, that is, they excel the best of all ma-
terial beings in their nature and properties. But God, as a spirit,
is infinitely more excellent than all material beings, and all created
si)irits. Tlieir perfections are derived from him ; and therefore he
is called ' the Father of spirits,' Heb. xii. 9. and ' the God of the
spirits of all flesh,' Numb. xvi. 22. ; and his perfections are un-
derived ; and he is independently immortal. Hence it is said of
him, that ' he only hath immortality,' 1 Tim. vi. 16. He is an in-
finite spirit ; and it can be said of none but him, that ' his under-
standing is infinite,' Psal. cxlvii. 5.
Now, a spirit is an immaterial substance, Luke xxiv. 39. ; and
seeing whatever God is, he is infinitely perfect in it, he is a most
pure spirit. Hence we may infer,
1. That God has no body nor bodily parts. Object. How then
are eyes, ears, hands, face, and the like, attributed in scripture to
God ? Answ. They are attributed to him not properly, but figura-
tively ; they are spoken of him after the manner of men, in conde-
scension to our weakness ; but we are to understand them after a
sort becoming the Divine Majesty. We are to consider what sucli
bodily parts serve us for, as our eyes for discerning and knowing,
our arms for strength, our hands for action, &c. and we are to con-
ceive these things to be in God infinitely, which these parts serve
for in us. Thus, when eyes and ears are ascribed to God they sig-
nify his omniscience ; his hands denote his power, and his face the
manifestation of his love and favour.
ledge, the Divine Being is almighty and omniscient. In short, by adding infinity to
any kind of perfection we enjoy, and by joining all these different kinds of perfections
in one being, we form our idea of the great Sovereign of nature.'
OP GOD AND ins PERFECTIONS. 79
2. That God is invisible, and cannot be seen with the eyes of the
body, no not in heaven ; for the glorified body is still a body, and
God a spirit, which is no object of the eyes, more than sound, taste,
smell, &c. 1 Tim. i. 17.
3. That God is the most suitable good to the nature of our
souls, which are spirits ; and can communicate himself, and apply
those things to them, which only can render them happy, as he is
the God and Father of our spirits.
4. That it is sinful and dishonourable to God, either to make
images or pictures of him without us, or to have any image of him
in our minds, which our unruly imagination is apt to frame to itself,
especially in prayer. For God is the object of our understanding,
not of our imagination. God expressly prohibited Israel to frame
any similitude or resemblance of him, and tells them, that they had
not the least i)retence for so doing, inasmuch as they ' saw no simili-
tude of him, when he spake to them in Horeb,' Deut. iv. 12, 15, 16.
And says the prophet, ' To whom will ye liken God? or what. like-
ness will ye compare unto him ?' Isa. xl. 18. We cannot form an
imaginary idea of our own souls or spirits, which are absolutely
invisible to us, and far less of him whoJs the invisible God, whom
no man hath seen or can see. Therefore to frame a picture or an
idea of what is invisible, is highly absurd and impracticable : nay,
it is gross idolatry, prohibited in the second commandment.
5. That externals in worship are of little value with God, who is
a spirit, and requires the heart. They who would be accepted of
God must worship him in spirit and in truth, that is, from an
apprehension and saving knowledge of what he is in Christ to poor
sinners. And this saving knowledge of God in Christ is attainable
in this life : for it is the matter of the divine promise, ' I will give
them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord,' Jer. xxiv. 7- ' It is
written in the prophets. They shall be all taught of God, John vi.
45. And therefore it should be most earnestly and assiduously
sought after by us, as, unless wo attain to it, we must perish for
ever.
That we may know what sort of a spirit God is, we must consider
his attributes, which we gather from his word and works, and that
two ways : 1. By denying of, and removing from God, in our minds,
all imperfection which is in the creatures. Acts xvii. 29. And
thus we come to the knowledge of his incommunicable attributes,
so called because there is no shadow or vestige of them in the
creatures, such as infinity, eternity, uuchangcableness. 2, By at-
tributing unto him, by way of ciuinoucy, whatever is excellent iu
the creatures, seeing he is the fountain of all perfection in tliem.
80 OF GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS.
Psal. xciv. 9. And thus we have his communicable attributes,
whereof there are some vestiges and small scantlings in the crea-
ture, as being, wisdom, power, &c. amongst which his spirituality is
to be reckoned.
Now, both these sorts of attributes in God are not qualities in
him distinct from himself, but they are God himself. God's infinity
is God himself, his wisdom is himself; he is wisdom, goodness, 1
John i. 5. Neither are these attributes so many different things
in God ; but they are each of them God himself: for God swears
by himself, Heb. vi. 13. ; yet he swears by his holiness, Amos iv. 2.
He creates by himself, Isa. xliv. 24. ; yet he creates by his power,
Rom. i. 20. Therefore God's attributes are God himself. Neither
are these attributes separable from one another; for though we,
through weakness, must think and speak of them separately, yet
they are truly but the one infinite perfection of the divine nature,
which cannot be separated therefrom, without denying that he is an
infinitely perfect being.
We have said that God is a spirit ; but angels and the souls of
men are spirits too. "What then is the difference between them?
Why, God is an infinite;^ eternal, and unchangeable spirit; but
angels and souls are but finite, were not from eternity, and are
changeable spirits. Now, these three, infinity, eternity, and immu-
tability, are God's incommunicable attributes, which we are next to
explain.
First, God is infinite. Infinity is the having no bounds or limits
within which a thing is contained. God then is infinite, i. e. he is
whatsoever he is without bounds, limits, or measure. Job xi. 7-
' Canst thou by searching find out God ? canst thou find out the
Almighty unto perfection ?' We cannot define the presence of God
by any certain place, so as to say, Here he is, but not there ; nor by
any limits, so as to say, Thus far his being reacheth, and no further :
but he is every where present, after a most inconceivable manner,
even in the deepest darkness, and the closest recesses of privacy.
He fills all the innumerable spaces that we can imagine beyond this
visible world, and infinitely more than we can imagine.
Now God is infinite, (1.) In respect of his being : for of his na-
ture our finite understandings cannot possibly form any adequate
conception. This lies hid in rays of such bright and radiant glory,
as must for ever dazzle the eyes of those who attempt to look into
it. (2.) In respect of place ; and therefore he is every where pre-
sent : ' Can any man hide himself in secret places, that I shall not
see him ? saith the Lord : do not I fill heaven and earth ? saith the
Lord,' Jer. xxiii. 24. (3.) In respect of time and duration: for the
OF GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS. 81
ages of his eternity cannot be numbered, ' nor the number of his
years searched out,' Job xxxvi. 26. (4.) In respect of all his com-
municable attributes. Thus the depth of his "wisdom cannot be
fathomed : ' 0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his
ways past finding out !' Rom. xi. 33. ' His greatness is unsearch-
able,' Psal. cxIy. 3. The extent of his power cannot be reached :
' The thunder of his power who can understand ?' Job xxvi. 14.
We cannot understand his powerful thunder, one of the lowest dis-
plays of his majesty in our region, much less tlie utmost extent and
force of his power, in its terrible effects, especially the power of his
anger : ' God is great, and we know him not.' The treasures of the
divine goodness cannot be inventoried : ' 0 how great is thy good-
ness (says the Psalmist), which thou hast laid up for them that fear
thee, which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before
the sons of men ! The brightness of God's glory cannot be de-
scribed ; as a full discovery of it twould quite overpower the facul-
ties of any mortal in this imperfect state : for man is weak and
unworthy of it, weak and could not bear it, guilty and could not
but dread it : and therefore God ' holdeth back the face of his
throne, and spreadeth a cloud upon it, Job xxvi. 9. With what
propriety, then did he say to Moses, ' Thou canst not see my face ;
for there shall no man see me, and live !' Exod. xxxiii. 20.
That God is infinite, is evident from the natural notions and dic-
tates of the human mind. Hence the heathens, by the light of
nature, attributed this perfection to the Divine Being. Thus one
philosopher pronounced him to be a circle whose centre is every
where, and whose circumference is no where ; which another philo-
sopher thus expressed in clearer terms, God is included in no place,
and excluded from none. Which way soever ye turn, says Seneca,
ye may take notice of God meeting you ; for nothing is void of him :
he himself fills all his works, and is present with the whole creation.
Remarkable also is the expression of the prince of Latin poets,
Jovis omnia plena, ' All things are full of God.' This also appears
from several passages of scripture ; as Deut. iv. 39. ' The Lord is
God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath.' 1 Kings viii.
27. ' The heaven, and heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee,' says
Solomon in his prayer to God at the dedication of the temple. See
also Psal. cxxxix. 4, &:c. Jer. xxiii. 23, 24. Again, if God were
not infinite and immense, many gross absurdities would follow
from the contrary notion ; such as, it is inconsistent with his uni-
versal providence over the world, by which all things are preserved.
' In him we live, move and have our being,' Acts xvii. 27. As his
82 OP GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS.
providence is over all, his essence must be equally diffusive. It is
inconsistent with his supreme perfection. No perfection can be
wanting in God : and therefore a limited essence, which is an im-
perfection, cannot be attributed to him. It is also inconsistent with
his immutability : For if he move and recede from one place to
another, would he not thereby be mutable ? while yet ' with him
there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.' Last of all, it
would be inconsistent with his omnipotence. That God can do
every thing, is a notion settled in the minds of all ; and his essence
cannot be less or mere confined than his power, and his power can-
not be thought to extend farther than his essence.
But some may be ready to say, Does not the scripture say, that
God sits in heaven and dwells on high, that heaven is his throne ;
and does not the Lord's prayer teach us to say, Our Father which
art in heaven ? Now, how can this agree with his infinity or immen-
sity? I answer, God is indeed said to sit in heaven and to dwell
on high ; but he is no where said4o dwell only in the heavens. It
is the court of his majestic presence, not the prison of his essence.
There is a three-fold presence of God : A glorious presence, which
is peculiar to heaven : A gracious presence, which the saints enjoy
on earth : And an essential presence, which is equally and alike in
all places. Others may allege, that it is a disparagement to God,
to say that he is essentially present in all places and with all crea-
tures, even on the dunghill of the earth, and in the sordid sink of
hell with the devils and the damned. To this I would only say,
that it is a gross misapprehension of God, and an unaccountable
measuring of him by ourselves, to imagine that he is capable of be-
ing infected by any thing below. For he is a pure and spotless
being. "Whatever is nauseous to our senses cannot affect him.
Darkness, is uncomfortable to us : but the darkness and the light
are all one to him. Wickedness may hurt a man ; but if we mul-
tiply our transgressions, what can we do unto him ? Job xxxv. 6, 8.
To deny the immensity of God, says one, because of ill-scented
places, is to measure God rather by the nicety of sense, than by
the sagacity of reason.
Secondly, The next incommunicable attribute of God is eternity.
Hence he is called ' the King eternal.' 1 Tim. i. 17- We find other
things called eternal. But the eternity of all things besides God is
only their having no end, though they had a beginning. Thus
angels and the souls of men are eternal, because they shall never
have an end. The covenant of grace is eternal, because the mer-
cies of it shall last for ever. The gospel is eternal, because the
effects of it shall never wear away. The redemption by Christ is
OF GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS. 83
eternal, foi' tlie same reason. And the last judgment is so, because
the consequences will be everlasting. But the eternity of God is
his being without beginning and without end, Psal. xc. 2. ' From
everlasting to everlasting thou art God,' He was from everlasting
before time, and will remain unto everlasting when time shall be no
more ; without beginning of life or end of days.
Thirdly, The next incommunicable attribute of God is unchange-
ableness. God is immutable, that is, always the same, without any
alteration. Hence it is said. Jam. i. 17. ' With whom is no vari-
ableness, neither shadow of turning,' Mai. iii. 6. ' I am the Lord, I
change not.' God makes changes upon the creatures, but is liable
to no change himself.' Though he alters his dispensations, yet not
his nature ; but, by one pure and constant act of his will and power,
effects what changes he pleases. He is the same in all his perfec-
tions, constant to his intentions, steady to his purpose, unchangeably
fixed and persevering in all his decrees and resolutions. "When God
is said to repent in scripture, Gen. vi. 6. 1 Sam. xv. 11. it denotes
only a change of his outward conduct according to his infallible
foresight and immutable will. He changes the way of his provi-
dential dealings according to the carriage and deportment of his
creature, without changing his will, which is the rule of his provi-
dence. For otherwise that is an eternal truth. Num. xxiii. 19.
' God is not a man, that he should lie ; neither the son of man, that
he should repent,' 1 Sam. xv. 29. ' The Strength of Israel will not
lie, nor repent ; for he is not a man, that he should repent.'
Having taken a short view of the incommunicable attributes of
God, I proceed now to consider those that are called communicable,
viz. his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
Now these things are in the creatures indeed, but they are in them
in a finite way ; -but God is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in
these perfections, which no creature is or can be.
First, There is his being which is his nature or essence and exis-
tence, which are but one thing in God. Creatures indeed have a
being, but it is only a finite being, a being that has a beginning, a
changeable one, and that may have an end. But God's being is an
infinite bein^, eternal and unchangeable. Hence he calls himself,
Exod. iii. 14. I AM THAT I AM. Hence we may infer,
1. That God is incomprehensible, and his essence infinite and un-
bounded, Psal. cxly. 3. ' His greatness is unsearchable.' It is not
possible for a finite understanding to comprehend all that is in God ;
but the nature of God is a boundless ocean that hatli no shore. Job
xi. 7. 'Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out
the Almighty to perfection?' And though God perfectly knows
himself, that is because his understanding is infinite.
84 OF GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS.
2. God is omnipresent and immense. He is present every where,
but bounded no where, not only in respect of his virtue or influence,
but of his essence. This clearly appears from the following pas-
sages, Psal. cxxxix. 7, 8, 9, 10. ' Whither shall I go from thy Spi-
rit ? or whither shall I flee from thy presence ? If I ascend up into
heaven, thou art there : If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art
there : If I take the yings of the morning, and dwell in the utter-
most parts of the sea : even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy
right hand shall hold me.' Jer. xxiii. 23, 24. 'Am I a God at hand,
saith the Lord, and not a God afar off"? Can any hide himself in
secret places, that I shall not see him ? saith the Lord, : do not I
fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord, 1 Kings viii. 27. 'Behold the
heaven and heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee.' He is there
where the thief is stealing, the unclean person gratifying his base
lusts, &c. though they see him not, and think themselves secure
when no other eyes see them.
3. There is no succession in the duration of God ; for where there
is not a first, there cannot be a second moment of duration; but God
is eternal : And there can be no succession of time in God's dura-
tion, if he be unchangeable; for that is a continual change. See
2 Pet. iii. 8. ' One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and
a thousand years as one day.'
4. God is independent, or self-suflUcient. His being and perfec-
tions are underived, and not communicated to him, as all finite
perfections are by him to the creature. This self-existence, or inde-
pendence, is one of the highest glories of the divine nature, by
which he is distinguished from all creatures, who live, move, and
have their being in and from him. Therefore all our springs are in
him, all that we enjoy or hope for is from him; and we should be
entirely devoted to his service and honour.
5. Lastly, This doctrine afl'ords full breasts of consolation to the
godly, who have an infinite, eternal, and unchangeable friend, who
will never leave nor forsake them, but render them completely
blessed at last, and confirm them in that happy state for ever. And
here is unspeakable terror to those whose enemy this great and
eternal God is ; for being his enemies, and dying in their rebellion,
they shall suff"er the whole vengeance and wrath threatened in his
word, which he liveth for ever to inflict ; and he will never alter
what he hath threatened. 0 let sinners be now persuaded to make
this infinite, eternal, and unchangeable God, their friend through
Jesus Christ, and so they shall infallibly escape the wrath that is to
come.
Secondly, The next communicable attribute of God is wisdom.
OP GOP AND ins PERFECTIONS. 85
The personal wisdom of God is Christ, 1 Cor. i. 24. But this is his
essential A^risdom, which is that attribute of God whereby he knows
himself, and all possible things, and how to dispose all things to the
best ends. Hence he is said to ' know all things,' John xxi. 17- and
to be * God only wise,' Rom. xvi. 27. Now, God is infinite, eternal,
and unchangeable in his wisdom, Psal. cxlvii. 5. ' His understanding
is unsearchable.'
The wisdom of God appears,
1. In the works of creation. The universe is a brigUlt mirror
wherein the wisdom of God may be clearly seen. ' The Lord by
wisdom made the heavens,' Psal. cxxxvi. 5. ' The Lord by wisdom
hath founded the earth ; by understanding hath he established the
heavens,' Prov. iii. 19. ' He hath established the world by his wis-
dom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.' More
particularly, the wisdom of God appears, (1.) In the vast variety of
creatures which he hath made. Hence the Psalmist cries out, 'How
manifold are thy works, 0 Lord ! in wisdom hast thou made them
all,' Psal. civ. 24. (2.) In the admirable and beautiful order and
situation of the creatures. God hath marshalled every thing in its
proper place and sphere. For instance, the sun, by its position dis-
plays the infinite wisdom of its Creator. It is placed in the midst
of the planets, to enlighten them with its brightness, and inflame
them with its heat, and thereby derive to them such benign qualities
as make them beneficial to all mixed bodies. If it were raised as
high as the stars, the earth would lose its prolific virtue, and remain
a dead carcase for want of its quickening heat ; and if it were placed
as low as the moon, the air would be inflamed with its excessive
heat, the waters would be dried up, and every planet scorched. But
at the due distance at which it is placed, it purifies the air, abates
the superfluities of the waters, temperately warms the earth, and so
serves all the purposes of life and vegetation. It could not be in
another position Avithout the disorder and hurt of universal nature.
Again, the expansion of the air from the ethereal heavens to the
earth is another testimony of divine wisdom : for it is transparent
and of a subtile nature, and so a fit medium to convey light and
celestial influences to this lower world. Moreover, the situation of
the earth doth also trumpet forth the infinite wisdom of its Divine
Maker : for it is as it were the pavement of the world, and placed
lowermost, as being the heaviest body, and fit to receive the weighti-
est matter. (3.) In fitting every thing for its proper end and use,
so that nothing is unprofitable and useless. After the most diligent
and accurate inquiry into the works of God, there is nothing to be
found superfluous, and there is nothing defective. (4.) In the sub-
86 OP GOl) AND HIS PERFECTIONS.
ordination of all its parts, to one common end. Thongh tliey are of
different natures, as lines vastly distant in themselves, yet they all
meet in one common centre, namely, the good and preservation of
the whole, TIos. ii. 21, 22. ' I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear
the heavens, and they shall hear the earth, and the earth shall hear
the corn and the wine, and the oil, and they shall hear Jezreel.'
2. In the government of the world. God sits in his secret place,
surrounded with clouds and darkness, holding the rudder of the
world inHiis hand, and steering its course through all the floatings
and tossings of casualty and contingency to his own appointed ends.
There he grasps and turns the great engine of nature, fastening one
pin and loosing another, moving and removing the several wheels of
it, and framing the whole according to the eternal idea of his own
understanding. By his governing providence he directs all the ac-
tions of his creatures ; and, by the secret and efficacious penetration
of the divine influence, he powerfully sways and determines them
which way he pleases.
3. In the work of redemption. This is the very masterpiece of
Divine wisdom ; and here shines the manifold or diversified wisdom
of God, Eph. iii. 10. It appears, (1.) In the contrivance thereof.
When man had ruined himself by sin, all the wisdom of men and
angels could never have devised a method for his recovery. Heaven
seemed to be divided upon this awful event. Mercy inclined to save
man, but Justice interposed for satisfaction. Justice pleaded the
law and the curse, by which the souls of sinners are forfeited to
vengeance. Mercy, on the other hand, urged, Shall the Almighty
build a glorious work, and suffer it to lie in eternal ruins ? shall the
most excellent creature in the inferior world perish through the
subtilty of a malicious and rebellious spirit ? shall that arch-rebel
triumph for ever, and raise his trophies from the final ruin of the
works of the Most High ? Shall the reasonable creature lose the
fruition of God, and God lose the subjection and service of his crea-
ture ? and, shall all mankind be made in vain ? Mercy further
pleaded, That if the rigorous demands of Justice be heard, it must lie
an obscure and unregarded attribute in the divine essence for ever ;
that it alone must be excluded, while all the rest of the attributes
had their share of honour. Thus the case was infinitely difficult, and
not to be unravelled ;by the united wit of all the celestial spirits. A
bench of angels was incapable to contrive a method of reconciling
infinite mercy with inflexible justice, of satisfying the demands of
the one, and granting the requests of the other. In this hard exi-
gence the wisdom of God interposed, and in the vast treasure of its
incomprehensible light, found out an admirable expedient to save
OF CxOD AND ins rERFECTIONS. 87
man without prejudice to the other divine perfections. The pleas of
Justice, said the wisdom of God, shall be satisfied in punishing, and
the requests of Mercy shall be granted in pardoning. Justice shall
not complain for want of punishment, nor Mercy for want of com-
passion ; I will have an infinite sacrifice to content Justice, and the
virtue and fruit of that sacrifice shall delight mercy. Here justice
shall have punishment to accept, and Mercy shall have pardon to
bestow. My Son shall die, and satisfy justice by his death ; and by
the virtue and merit of that sacrifice sinners shall be received into
favour, and herein Mercy shall triumph and be glorified. Here was
the most glorious display of wisdom. (2.) In the ordination of a
Mediator every way fitly qualified to reconcile men unto God. A
mediator must be capable of the sentiments and aftections of both
the parties he is to reconcile, and a just esteemer of the rights and
injuries of the one and the other, and have a common interest in
both. The Son of God, by his incarnation, perfectly possesses all
these qualities. He hath a nature to please God, and a nature to
please sinners. He had both the perfections of the Deity, and all
the qualities and sinless infirmities of the humanity. The one fitted
him for things pertaining to God, and the other furnished him with
a sense of the infirmities of man. — This union of the diviue and hu-
man nature in the person of Christ was necessary to fit and qualify
him for the discharge of his threefold office of Proj^het, Priest, and
King. — As a Proi)hct, it was requisite he should be God, that so he
might acquaint us with his Father's will, and reveal the secret pur-
poses and hidden counsels of heaven concei-ning our salvation, which
were locked up in the bosom of God from all eternity. And it was
needful he should be man, that he might converse with poor sinners
in a familiar manner, and convey the mind and counsels of God to
them, in such a way as they could receive them. — As a Priest, he
behoved to be a man, that so he might be capable to suff'er, and to
bear the wrath which the sins of the elect had justly deserved.
And it behoved him to be God, to render his temporary sufferings
satisfactory. The great dignity and excellency of the divine Media-
tor's person made his sufferings of infinite value in God's account.
Though he only suffered as a man, yet he satisfied as God, — As a
King, he must be God, to conquer Satan, convert an elect world,
and effectually subdue the lusts and corruptions of men. And he
must be man, that by the excellency of his example, he might lead
us in the way of life. (3.) In the manner whereby this redemption
is accomplished, namely, by the humiliation of the Son of God. By
this he counteracted the sin of angels and men. Pride is the poison
of every sin: for in every transgression the creature prefers his
88 OP GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS.
pleasure to and sets up his own will above God's. This was the
special sin of Adara. The devil would have levelled heaven by
usurpation. He said in his heart, I will be like the Most High ; and
man infected with his breath (when he said, Ye shall he like gods)
became sick of the same disease. Now, the Divine Redeemer, that
he might cure our disease in its source and cause by the quality of
the remedy, applied to our pride an unspeakable humility. Man
was guilty of the highest robbery in affecting to be equal with God ;
and the Son, who was in the bosom of God, and equal to hira in ma-
jesty and authority, emptied himself by assuming the human nature
in its servile state, Phil. ii. 6, 7, 8. It is said, John i. 14, ' The
word was made flesh.' The meanest part of our nature is specified
to signify the greatness of his abasement. There is such an infinite
distance between God and flesh, that the condescension is as admir-
able as the contrivance. So great was the malignity of human
pride, that such a profound humility was requisite for the cure of it.
And by this Christ destroyed the works of the devil. (4.) In ap-
pointing such contemptible, and in appearance opposite means, to
bring about such glorious elfects. The way is as admirable as the
work. Christ ruined the devil's empire by the very same nature
that he had vanquished, and by the very means which he had made
use of to establish and confirm it. He took not upon him the na-
ture of angels, which is equal to Satan in strength and power ; but
he took part of flesh and blood, that he might the more signally tri-
umph over that proud spirit in the human nature, which was infe-
rior to his, and had been vanquished by him in paradise. For this
end he did not immediately exercise omnipotent power to destroy
him, but managed our weakness to foil the roaring lion. He did
not enter the lists with Satan in the glory of his Deity, but dis-
guised under the human nature which was subject to mortality.
And thus the devil was overcome in the same nature over which he
first got the victory. For as the whole race of mankind was cap-
tivated by him in Adam the representative, so believers are made
victorious over him by the conquest which their representative ob-
tained in the whole course of his sufterings. As our ruin was ef-
fected by the subtility of Satan, so our recovery is wrought by the
wisdom of God, who takes the wise in their own craftiness. Thus
eternal life springs from death, glory from ignominy, and blessed-
ness from a curse. We are healed by stripes, quickened by death,
purchased by blood, crowned by a cross, advanced to the highest
honour by the lowest humility, comforted by sorrows, glorified by
disgrace, absolved by condemnation, and made rich by poverty.
Thus the wisdom of God shines with a radiant brightness in the
work of redemption.
OP GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS. 89
I shall conclude this point with a few inferences.
1. God is omniscient ; ' he knows all things,' John xxi. 17. ' All
things are naked and open to him,' Heb. iv. 13. His eye sees us
wherever we are. Even future contingencies, as well as the most ne-
cessary things are known to him. This is beautifully described by the
Psalmist, Psal. cxxxix. 1, — 10. which deserves your serious perusal-
2. His knowledge of all things is not conjectural, but infallible,
Rom. xi. 33, 34. ' 0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his
ways past finding out ! For who hath known the mind of the Lord,
who hath been his counsellor ?' There is nothing to him contin-
gent or uncertain ; but every thing falls out exactly according to /
his foreknowledge and predetermination.
3. It is altogether independent on the creature, whose motions
and operations were known to him from eternity, and are all regu-
lated by his counsel.
4. Lastly, To this wise God we may safely entrust all our con-
cerns, knowing he will manage them all so as to promote his own glory
and our real good.
Thirdly, The next communicable perfection of God is power,
whereby he can do whatever he pleases, and whatsoever is not re-
pugnant to his nature, Jer. xxxii. 17. ' Ah, Lord God, behold, thou
hast made the heaven and the earth, by thy great power and
stretched-out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.' He is
infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in power; which the scripture
holds forth, 1. Positively, Gen. xvii. 1. * I am the Almighty God.'
2. Negatively, Luke i. 37. ' With God nothing shall be impossible.'
3. Comparatively, Matt. xix. 26. ' With men this is impossible ; but
with God all things are possible.'
The power of God appears,
1. In the creation of the world, Rom. i. 20. ' For the invisible
things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and
Godhead.' 0 how great must that power be, Arhich produced the
beautiful fabric of the universe, without the concurrence of any ma-
terial cause ! This proclaims it to be truly infinite : for nothing
less could make such distant extremes as nothing and being to meet
together. All this was done by a word, one simple act of his will ;
for ' he spake and it was done ; he commanded and it stood fast,'
Psal. xxxiii. 9.
2. In the preservation of the world, and all things therein. He
' upholdeth all things by the word of his power,' Heb. i. 3. He pre-
serves all the creatures in their proper place, for their proper use
90 OP GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS.
and end. It is by the Divine Power that the heavenly bodies have
constantly rolled about in their spheres for so many ages, without
wearing or moving out of their proper course ; and that the tumul-
tuous elements have persisted in their order to this very day. He
preserves the confederacies of nature, sets bounds to the raging sea,
and keeps it within its limits by a girdle of sand. He is the power-
ful preserver of man and beast. He preserves them in their kind
and species, by the constant succession of them one after another ;
so that, though the individuals perish, yet the species continues. 0
what a mighty power must that be that sustains so many creatures,
sets bounds to the raging sea, holds the wind in his fists, and pre-
serves a comely order and sweet harmony among all the creatures !
3. In the government of the world. He is the supreme Rector of
the universe, and manages all things, so that they contribute to the
advancement of his own glory, and the advantage of his people.
By his governing providence he directs all the actions and motions
of his creatures, and powerfully determines them which way soever
he pleases. All the creatures are called his host, because he mar-
shals them as an army to serve his important purposes. The whole
system of nature is ready to favour and act for men when he com-
mands it, and it is ready to punish them when he gives it a commis-
sion. Thus he checked the Red Sea, and it obeyed his voice, Psal.
cvi. 9. Its rapid motion quickly ceased, and the fluid waters were
immediately ranged as defensive walls to secure the march of his
people. At the command of God, the sea again recovered its
wonted violence, and the watery walls came tumbling down upon
the heads of the proud Egyptian oppressor and his host. The sea
so exactly obeyed its orders, that not one Israelite was drowned,
and not one Egyptian was saved alive. More particularly, the
power of God appears in the moral government of the world.
(1.) In governing and ordering the hearts of men, so that they
are not masters of their own affections, but often act quite contrary
to what they had firmly resolved or proposed. Of which we have
eminent instances in Esau and Balaam. He hath the hearts of all
men in his hands, and can turn them what way he pleases. Thus
he bent the hearts of the Egyptians to favour the Israelites, by
sending them away with great riches given them by way of loan.
He turned Jehoshaphat's enemies from him when they came with a
purpose to destroy him, 2 Cliron. xviii. 31.
2. In governing and managing the most stubborn creatures, as
devils and wicked men. (1.) In his governing devils. They have
great power, and are full of malice. The devil is always going
about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. We could
OF GOD AND UIS PERFECTIONS. 91
hare no quiet nor safety in the world, if his power were not re-
strained, and his malice curbed by one that is mightier than the
infernal fiend. He would turn all things upside down, plague the
world, burn cities and houses, and plunder us of all the supports of
life, if he were not held in a chain by the Omnipotent Governor of
the world. But God overmasters his strength, so that he cannot
move one hair's breadth beyond his tether. God has all the devils
chained, and he governs all their motions. The devil could not
touch Job in his person and goods without the divine permission ;
nor could he enter into the Gadarene swine without a special
licence. If we consider the great malice of these invisible enemies,
and the vast extent of their power, we Avill easily see that there
could be no safety or security for men, if they were not curbed and
restrained by a superior power. (2.) In governing wicked men.
All the imaginations of their hearts are evil, and only evil con-
tinually. They are fully bent upon mischief, and drink iniquity
like water. What unbridled licentiousness and headstrong fury
would triumph in the world, and run with a rapid violence, if the
Divine Power did not interpose to bear down the flood gates of it ?
Human society would be rooted up, the whole woi'ld drenched in
blood, and all things would run into a sea of confusion, if God
did not bridle and restrain the lusts and corruptions of men. The
king of Assyria triumphed much in his design against Jerusalem ;
but how did God govern and manage that wild ass ! Isa. xxxvii. 29.
' I will put my hook into thy nose, (says Jehovah), and my bridle
in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou
camest.' And we are told, Psal. Ixxvi. 10. that ' the very wrath
of man shall praise him, and that he will restrain the remainder of
wrath.'
(3.) In raising up a church to himself in spite of all his enemies.
This is specially seen in founding the New Testament church, and
propagating the gospel through the world. The power of God ap-
pears admirable in planting the gospel, and converting the world to
Christianity. For there were many and great difficulties in the
way, as gross and execrable idolatry; and the nations were strongly
confirmed and rooted in their idolatry, being trained up and inured
to it from their infant state. It was as hard to make the Gentiles
forsake the religion which they received from their birth, as to
make the Africans change their skin, and the leopard his spots.
The Pagan religion was derived from their progenitors through a
long succession of ages. Hence the heathens accused the Christian
religion of novelty, and urged nothing more plausibly than the
argument of immemorial prescription for their superstition. They
0x2
92 OF GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS.
would not consider whether it was just and reasonable, but with
a blind deference yielded up themselves to the authority of the
ancients. The pomp of the Pagan worship was very pleasing to the
flesh ; the magnificence of their temples, adorned with the trophies
of superstition, their mysterious ceremonies, their music, their pro-
cessions, their images and altars, their sacrifices and purifications,
and the rest of the equipage of a carnal religion, drew their
respects and strongly affected their minds through their senses.
Whereas the religion of the gospel is spiritual and serious, holy
and pure, and hath nothing to move the carnal part. There was
then an universal depravation of manners among men ; the whole
earth was covered with abominations : the most unnatural lusts had
lost the fear and shame that naturally attends them. "We may see
a melancholy picture of their most abandoned conversation, Rom. i.
The powers of the world were bent against tlie gospel. The hea^
then philosophers strongly opposed it. When Paul preached at
Athens, the Epicureans and Stoics entertained him with scorn and
derision ; ' What will this babbler say ?' said they. The heathen
priests conspired to obstruct it. The princes of the world thought
themselves obliged to prevent the introduction of a new religion,
lest their empire should be in hazard, or the greatness and majesty
of it impaired thereby. If we consider the means by which the
gospel was propagated, the Divine Power will evidently appear.
The i)ersons employed in this great work were a few illiterate
fishermen, with a publican and a tent-maker, without authority and
power to force men to obedience, and without the charms of elo-
quence to enforce the belief of the doctrines which they taught.
Yet this doctrine prevailed, and the gospel had wonderful success
through all the j)arts of the then known world, and that against all
the power and policy of men and devils. Now, how could this pos-
sibly be, without a mighty operation of the power of Grod upon the
hearts of men ?
(4.) In preserving, defending, and supporting his church under
the most terrible tempests of trouble and persecution which were
raised against her. This is promised by our blessed Saviour, Matth.
xvi. 18. ' The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' The most
flourishing monarchies have decayed and wasted, and the strongest
kingdoms have been broken in pieces; yet the church hath been
preserved to this very day, notwithstanding all the subtle and po-
tent enemies which in all ages have been pushing at her. Yea,
God has preserved and delivered his church in the greatest ex-
tremities, when the danger in all human appearance was unavoid-
able ; as in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in Esther's days, when a
OF GOD AND HIS PERFECTIOKS. 93
bloody decree was issued to slay all the Jews. Yea, God hath
sometimes delivered his church by very weak and contemptible-like
instruments, such as Moses, a fugitive from Egypt, and Aaron, a
poor captive in it ; and sometimes by very unlikely means, as when
he smote Egypt with armies of locusts and lice. In all ages of the
world God has gloriously displayed his power in the preservation of
his church and people, notwithstanding all the rage, power, and
malice of their enemies.
(5.) In the conversion of the elect. Hence the gospel, which is
the means and instrument of conversion, is called the poiver of God,
and the rod of his strength ; and the day of the success of the gospel
in turning sinners to Christ, is called the day of his power, Psal. ex.
3. 0 what a mighty power must that be that stills the waves of a
tempestuous sea, quells the lusts and stubbornness of the heart, de-
molishes the strong holds of sin in the soul, routs all the armies of
corrupt nature, and makes the obstinate rebellious will strike sail
to Christ ! The power of God that is exerted here makes a man to
think on other objects, and speak in another strain, than he did be-
fore. 0 how admirable is it, that carnal reason should be thus
silenced ; that legions of devils should be thus driven out ; and that
men should part with those sins which before they esteemed their
chiefest ornaments, and stand at defiance with all the charming
allurements and bitter discouragements of the world ? The same
power that raised Christ from the grave is exerted in the conversion
of a sinner. Eph. i. 19, 20. There is greater power exerted in this
case than there was in the creation of the world. For when God
made the world, he met with no opposition ; he spake the word, and
it was done : but when he comes to convert a sinner, he meets with
all the opposition which the devil and a corrupt heart can make
against him. God wrought but one miracle in the creation : he
spake the word and it was done ; but there are many miracles
wrought in conversion. The blind is made to see, the dead raised,
and the deaf hears the voice of the Son of God. 0 the infinite
power of Jehovah ! In this work the mighty arm of the Lord is
revealed.
(6.) In preserving the souls of believers amidst the many dangers
to which they are exposed, and bringing them safely to glory at
last. They have many enemies without, a legion of subtle and
powerful devils, and a wicked and ensnaring world, with all its
allurements and temptations ; and they have many strong lusts and
corruptions within; and their graces are but weak, and in their
infancy and minority, while they are here : So that it may justly be
matter of wonder how they are preserved. But the apostle tells us,
u3
d4 OF GOD AN1> HIS PERFECTIONS.
that they * are kept by the power of God through faith unto salva-*
tion,' 1 Pet. i. 5. Indwelling corruption would soon quench grace
in their hearts, if it were not kept alive by a divine power. But
Christ hath pledged his faithfulness for it, that they shall be kept
secure, John X. 28. It is his power that moderates the violence of
temptations, supports his people under them, defeats the power of
Satan, and bruises him under their feet.
4. Lastly, The power of God appears gloriously in the redemption
of sinners by Jesus Christ. Hence in scripture Christ is called the
power as well as the wisdom of God. This is the most admirable
work that ever God brought forth in the world. More particularly,
(1.) The power of God shines in Christ's miraculous conception
in the womb of a virgin. The power of the Highest did overshadow
her, Luke i. 35. and by" a creative act framed the humanity of Christ
of the substance of the virgin's body, and united it to the Divinity.
This was foretold many ages before as the eifect of the divine power.
When Judah was oppressed by two potent kings, and despaired of
any escape and deliverance to raise their drooping spirits, the pro-
phet tells them, that he would give them a sign ; and a wonderful
one it was. Therefore it is said ' Behold a virgin shall conceive,
and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel,' Isa. vii. 14.
The argument is from the greater to the less : For if God will ac-
complish that stupendous and unheard-of wonder, much more will
he rescue his people from the fury of their adversaries.
(2.) In uniting the divine and human nature in the person of
Christ, and that without any confusion of the two natures, or chang-
ing the one into the other. The two natures of ChrisT are not mixed
together, as liquors that incorporate with one another, when poured
into the same vessel. The divine nature is not turned into the
human, nor the human into the divine. One nature doth not swal-
low up another, and make a third distinct from both. But they are
distinct, and yet united ; conjoined, and yet unmixed : the pro-
perties of each nature are preserved entire. 0 what a wonder of
power was here ! that two natures, a divine and a human, infinitely
distant in themselves, should meet together in a personal conjunc-
tion ! Here one equal with God is found in the form of a servant ;
here God and man are united in one ; the Creator and the creature
are miraculously allied in the same subsistance. Here a God of un-
mixed blessedness is linked personally with a man of perpetual sor-
rows. That is an admirable expression, ' The "Word was made flesh,'
John i. 14. What can be more miraculous than for God to become
man, and man to become God ? that a person possessed of all the
perfections and excellencies of the Deity should inherit all the in-
' OP aOD AND niS PERFECTIONS. 95
flrmities and imperfectious of humanity, sin only excepted ? Was
there not need of infinite power, to bring together terms which were
so far asunder? Nothing less than an omnipotent power could
effect and bring about what an infinite and incomprehensible wis-
dom did project in this matter.
(3.) In supporting the human nature of Christ, and keeping it
from sinking under the terrible weight of divine wrath that came
upon him for our sins, and making him victorious over the devil and
all the powers of darkness. His human nature could not possibly
have borne up under the wrath of God and the curse of the law, nor
held out under such fearful contests with the powers of hell and the
world, if it had not been upheld by infinite j)ower. Hence his Fa-
ther says concerning him, Isa. xlii. 1. ' Behold my servant whom I
uphold.'
(4.) The divine power did evidently appear in raising Christ from
the dead. The apostle tells us, that God exerted his mighty power
in Christ when he raised him from the dead, Eph. i. 19. The un-
locking the belly of the whale for the deliverance of Jonah, the
rescue of Daniel from the den of lions, and restraining the fire from
burning the three children, were signal declarations of the divine
power, and types of the resurrection of our Redeemer. But all
these are nothing to what is represented by them : for that was a
power over natural causes, and curbing of beasts and restraining of
elements ; but in the resurrection of Christ, God exercised a power
over himself, and quenched the flames of his own wrath, that was
hotter than millions of Nebuchadnezzar's furnaces : he unlocked the
prison doors wherein the curses of the law had lodged our Saviour,
stronger than the belly and ribs of a leviathan. How admirable
was it, that he should be raised from under the curse of the law, and
the infinite weight of our sins, and brought forth with success and
glory after his sharp encounter with the powers of hell ! in this the
power of God was gloriously manifested. Hence he is said to be
raised from the dead ' by the glory of the Father,' i. e. by his glori-
ous power ; and * declared to be the Son of God with power, by the
resurrection from the dead,' Rom. i. 4. All the miraculous proofs
by which God acknowledged him for his Son during his life, had
been ineffectual without this. If he had remained in the grave, it
had been reasonable to believe him only an ordinary person, and
that his death had been the just punishment of his presumption in
calling himself the Son of God. But his resurrection from the dead
was the most illustrious and convincing evidence, that really he was
what he declared himself to be.
I shall conclude, on this point, with a few inferences.
96 OP GOD APfD Ills PERFECTIONS.
1. God is omnipotent; that is, can do all things. It is true lie
cannot lie nor deny himself, for these are repugnant to his nature,
and argue not power, but weakness and imperfection.
2. God's power never acts to its utmost extent. lie can do more
always than he either doth or will do, Matt. iii. 9. He can do all
things possible ; but he only doth what he hath decreed to be done,
Mat. xxvi, 53, 54.
3. Hence we may be confirmed in our belief of the resurrection.
Some are ready to reckon it a thing impossible, that there can be a
recollection of the dispersed particles of men's bodies when they are
dissolved into dust, and scattered into the four winds. But if we
consider the power of God, this will abundantly answer all that can
be objected against this truth. Hence saith the apostle. Acts xxvi.
8. ' Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God
should raise the dead ?' And saith our Saviour to the Sadducees,
who denied the resurrection, ' Ye do err, not knowing the scrip-
tures, nor the power of God,' Almighty power can meet with no
let or bar. Unless the particles of men's bodies could be scattered
beyond the reach of Almighty power, and grinded so small as to
escape the knowledge and care of God, this dispersion can make no-
thing against the faith and possibility of the resurrection.
4. Is God of infinite power ? then all his promises shall be most
certainly accomplished, whatever difliculties may be in the way
thereof. For God is able to bring to pass whatever he has pro-
mised to his people. Therefore difficulty or improbability should
never discourage or weaken our faith, because the power of God is
infinite.
5. They are absolutely sure of salvation who are kept by the
power of God ; for God is able to keep them from falling, and his
power is engaged for their preservation. They are surrounded with
and infolded in the arms of Omnipotence ; their souls are in safe
custody, beiug committed unto Christ, from whose hands none can
pluck them.
6. Wo to those against whom the power of God is set ; for ' they
shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of
the Lord, and from the glory of his power, 2 Thess. i. 9. It is a
dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Consider
this, 0 ye sinners, and flee from the wrath that is to come.
7. Abuse not the power of God, by limiting it, as Israel did in
the wilderness, Psal. Ixxviii. 19. by trusting to an arm of flesh, as
too many are apt to do, more than to the God of power, Jer. xvii.
5. or by fearing the wrath of man, who can only kill the body, and
not dreading the displeasure of Almighty God, Isa. li. 12, 13.
OF GOD AND HIS PEBFECTIONS. 97
8. Lastly, Improve the power of God by faith, depending upon it
for the performance of all his gracious promises towards you and
the church ; for ' he can work, and who shall let it ?' for strength
to resist and vanquish, sin, Satan, and the world, saying, ' If God
be for us, who can be against us ?' and for grace to enable you to
the performance of every commanded duty, saying with the apostle,
* I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.'
Fourthly, The next communicable attribute of God that falls to
be considered is holiness, which is the absolute purity of his nature,
whereby he delights in whatever is agreeable to his holy will, and
in the resemblance of it that is in the creatures. Or, it is the per-
fect rectitude and integrity of the divine essence, whereby in all
that he doth he acts like himself and for himself, delighting in
whatever is agreeable to his will and nature, and abhorring what-
ever is contrary thereto. Hence he is said to be ' glorious in holiness,'
Exod. XV. 11. And ' he is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and
cannot look upon iniquity,' Hab. i. 13. And he is infinite, eternal,
and unchangeable in holiness. Hence the heavenly host proclaim,
' Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts,' Isa. vi. 3.
Now, God is, (1.) Necessarily holy. Not only he will not, but he
cannot look on iniquity. His holiness is not only an act of his will,
but belongeth to his essence. (2.) He is essentially holy. Holiness
is the essential glory of the divine nature ; yea, it is his very es-
sence. Holiness in men is an accessary quality and superadded gift,
and is separable from the creature. But in God his essence and his
holiness are the same. He could as soon cease to be God, as cease
to be holy. (3.) He is perfectly holy. The best saints on earth
are but holy in part ; there is still a mixture of sin in them while
here. But, ' God is light, and in him is no darkness at all,' 1 John
1. 5. (4.) He is universally holy ; holy in all that he is, in all that
he hath, and in all that he doth. He is holy in his name, in his
nature, in his word, and in his works. (5.) He is originally holy.
Angels and men are made holy ; but God is holy of himself, and
he is the original spring of all the holiness that is in the creatures.
(6.) He is exemplarily holy. The holiness of God is the example
and j)attern of all the holiness that is in the creatures. Hence we
are required to ' be holy as God is holy,' 1 Pet. i. 16. (7.) He is
perpetually and unchangeably holy. The best men on earth may
change to the worse ; they may grow less holy than they are ; but
God is immutable in his holiness. He cannot grow more holy than
he is, because he is infinitely holy, and his holiness is incapable of
any addition. Nor can he grow less holy than he is, because then
he would cease to be God.
The holiness of God is manifested and discovered,
98 OF GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS.
1. In his word; and that both in the precepts and promises
thereof, God manifested his hatred and detestation of sin even in a
variety of sacrifices under the ceremonial law ; and the occasional
washings and sprinklings upon ceremonial defilements, which pol-
luted only the body, were a clear proof, that every thing that had a
resemblance to evil was loathsome to God. All the legal sacrifices,
washings, and purifications, were designed to express what an evil
sin is, and how hateful and abominable it is to him. But the holi-
ness of God is most remarkably expressed in the moral law. Hence
the laiu is said to be holy, Rom. vii. 12. It is a true transcript of
the holiness of God. And it is holy in its precepts. It requires an
exact, perfect, and complete holiness in the whole man, in every
faculty of the soul, and in every member of the body. It is holy
in its prohibitions. It forbids and condemns all impurity and filthi-
ness whatsoever. It discharges not only sinful words and actions,
gross and atrocious crimes, and profane, blasphemous, and unprofit-
able speeches, but all sinful thoughts and irregular motions of the
heart. Hence is that exhortation, Jer. iv. 14. ' 0 Jerusalem, wash
thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved : how long
shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee ?' It is holy in its threat-
enings. All these have their fundamental root in the holiness of
God, and are a branch of this essential perfection. All the terrible
threatenings annexed to the law are declarations of the holiness
and purity of God, and of his infinite hatred and detestation of sin.
Again, the holiness of God appears in the promises of the word.
They are called holy promises, Psal. cv. 42. and they are designed to
promote and encourage true holiness. Hence says the apostle, 2
Cor. vii. 1. ' Having these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all
filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of
the Lord.' By them we are ' made partakers of a divine nature,'
2 Pet. i. 4.
2. The holiness of God is manifested in his works. Hence the
Psalmist saith, ' The Lord is holy in all his works,' Psal. cxlv. 17-
More particularly,
(1.) The divine holiness appears in the creation of man. Solo-
mon tells us, Eccl. vii. 29. that ' God made man upright ;' and Moses
says, that he was ' made after the image of God,' Gen. i. 27. Now,
the image of God in man consists chiefly in holiness. Therefore the
new man is said to be ' created after God in righteousness and true
holiness,' Eph. iv. 24. Adam was made with a perfection of grace.
There was an entire and universal rectitude in all its faculties, dis-
posing them to their proper operations. There was no disorder
among his affections, but a perfect agreement between the flesh and
OF GOD AND HIS rERPECTIONS. 99
tlie spirit ; and they both joined in the service of God. He fully
obeyed the first and great command, of loving the Lord with all his
soul and strength, and his love to other things was regulated by his
love to God. When Adam dropt from the creating finger of God,
he had knowledge in his understanding, sanctity in his will, and
rectitude in his afi"ections. There was such a harmony among all
his faculties, that his members yielded to his aftections, his affec-
tions to his will, his will obeyed his reason, and his reason was
subject to the law of God. Here then was a display of the divine
purity.
(2.) In the works of Providence; Particularly in his judicial pro-
ceedings against sinners for the violation of his holy and righteous
laws. All the fearful judgments which have been poured down
upon sinners, spring from God's holiness and hatred of sin. All the
dreadful storms and tempests in the world are blown up by it. All
diseases and sicknesses, wars, pestilence, plagues, and famines, are
designed to vindicate God's holiness and hatred of sin. And there-
fore, when God had smitten the two sons of Aaron for offering
strange fire, he says, ' I will be sanctified in them that draw nigh
me, and before all the congregation I will be glorified,' Lev. x. 3.
He glorified himself in declaring by that act, before all the people,
that he is a holy God, that cannot endure sin and disobedience.
More particularly,
[1.] God's holiness and hatred of sin is clearly manifested in his
punishing the angels that sinned. It is said, 2 Pet. ii. 4. ' God
spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and
delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved nuto judg-
ment.' Neither their mighty numbers, nor the nobility of their
natures, could incline their offended Sovereign to spare them ; they
were immediately turned out of heaven, and expelled from the
divine presence. Their case is hopeless and helpless; no mercy will
ever be shewn to one of them, being under the blackness of dark-
ness for ever.
[2.] In the punishment threatened and inflicted on man for his
first apostasy from God. Man in his first state was the friend and
favourite of heaven ; by his extraction and descent he was the Son
of God, a little lower than the angels ; consecrated and crowned for
the service of his Maker, and appointed as king over the inferior
world ; he was placed in paradise, the garden of God, and admitted
to fellowship and communion with him. But sin hath divested hira
of all his dignity and glory. By his rebellion against liis Creator,
he made a forfeiture of his dominion, and so lost the obedience of
the sensible creatutes, and tlie service of the insensible. He was
100 OF GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS.
thrust out of paradise, banished from the presence of God, and de-
barred from fellowship and communion with him. God immediately
sentenced him and all his posterity to misery, death, and ruin.
This is a clear demonstration of the infinite purity and holiness of
God. But blessed be God, for Jesus Christ, the second Adam, who
hath restored that which the first Adam took away.
[3.] In executing terrible and strange judgments upon sinners.
It was for sin that God drowned the old world with a deluge of
water, rained hell out of heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and
made the earth open her mouth, and swallow up Korah, Dathan,
and Abiram. It was for sin that God brought terrible destroying
judgments upon Jerusalem. All calamities and judgments spring
from this bitter root, as sword, pestilence, distempers of body, per-
plexities of mind, poverty, reproach, and disgrace, and whatever is
grievous and afflictive to men. All this shows how hateful sin is
to God.
[4.] In punishing sins seemingly small with great and heavy
judgments. A multitude of angels were sent down to hell for an
aspiring thought, as some think. Uzzah, a good man, was struck
dead in a moment for touching the ark ; yea, fifty thousand Beth-
shemites were smitten dead for looking into it. We are apt to
entertain slight thoughts of many sins : but God hath set forth some
as examples of his hatred and abhorrence of sins seemingly small,
for a warning to others, and a testimony and demonstration of his
exact holiness.
[5.] In bringing heavy afflictions on his own people for sin.
Even the sins of believers in Christ do sometimes cost them very
dear. He will not suff'er them to pass without correction for their
transgressions. Though they are exempted from everlasting tor-
ments in hell, yet they are not spared from the furnace of affliction
here on earth. "We have instances of this in David, Solomon, Jonah,
and other saints. Yea, sometimes God in this life, punishes sin more
severely in his own people than in other men. Moses was excluded
from the land of Canaan but for speaking unadvisedly with his lips,
though many greater sinners were suffered to enter in. Such seve-
rity towards his own people is a plain demonstration, that God
hates sin as sin, and not because the worst men commit it.
[6.] In sentencing so many of Adam's posterity to everlasting
torments for sin. That an infinitely good God, who is goodness
itself, and delights in mercy, should adjudge so many of his own
creatures to the everlasting pains and torments of hell, must pro-
ceed from his infinite holiness, on account of something infinitely
detested and abhorred by him.
OF GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS. 101
3. The holiness of God appears in our redemption by Jesus
Christ. Here his love to holiness and his hatred of sin is most con-
spicuous. All the demonstrations that ever God gave of his hatred
of sin were nothing in comparison of this. Neither all the vials of
wrath and judgment which God hath poured out since the world
began, nor the flaming furnace of a sinner's conscience, nor the
groans and roarings of the damned in hell, nor that irreversible
sentence pronounced against the fallen angels, do afford such a de-
monstration of the divine holiness, and hatred of sin, as the death
and sufterings of the blessed Redeemer. This will appear, if ye
consider,
(1.) The great dignity and excellency of his person. He was the
eternal and only begotten Son of God, the brightness of his Father's
glory, and the express image of his person. Yet he must dfescend
from the throne of his majesty, divest himself of his robes of insup-
portable light, take upon him the form of a servant, become a curse,
and bleed to death for sin. Did ever sin appear so hateful to God
as here ? To demonstrate God's infinite holiness, and hatred of sin,
he would have the most glorious and most excellent person in hea-
ven and earth to suffer for it. He would have his own Son to die
on a disgraceful cross, and be exposed to the terrible flames of di-
vine wrath, rather than sin should live, and his holiness remain for
ever disparaged by the violations of his law.
(2.) How dear he was to his Father. He was his only begotten
Son, he had not another ; the only darling and the chief delight of
his soul, who had lain in his bosom from all eternity. Yet as dear
as he was to God, he would not and could not spare him, when he
stood charged with his people's sins. For saith the apostle, Rom.
viii. 32. ' God spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us
all.' As he spared him not in a way of free bounty, giving him
freely as a ransom for thek- souls ! so he spared him not in a way of
vindictive justice, but exacted the utmost mite of satisfaction from
him for their sins.
(3.) The greatness of his sufferings. Indeed the extremity of his
sufferings cannot be expressed. Insensible nature, as if it had been
capable of understanding and affection, was disordered in its whole
frame at his death. The sun forsook his shining, and clothed the
whole heavens in black ; so that the air was dark at noon-day, as if
it had been midnight. The earth shook and trembled, the rocks
were rent asunder, and universal nature shrank. Christ suffered
all that wrath which was due to the elect for their sins. His suf-
ferings were equivalent to those of the damned. He suffered a pun-
ishment of loss : for all the comforting influences of the Spirit were
102 OP GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS.
suspended for a time. Tlio divine nature kept back all its joys
from the human nature of Christ, in the time of his greatest suffer-
ings. We deserved to have been separated from God for ever;
and therefore our Redeemer was deserted for a time. There was a
suspension of all joy and comfort from his soul, when he needed it
most. This was most afflicting and cutting to him, who had never
seen a frown in his Father's face before. It made him cry out with
a lamentable accent, ' My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me ?' Again, he suffered a punishment of sense, and that with re-
spect to both his body and soul. The elect had forfeited both soul
and body to divine vengeance; and therefore Christ suffered in both.
The sufferings of his body were indeed terrible. It was filled with
exquisite torture and pain. His hands and his feet, the most sensi-
ble parts were pierced with nails. His body was distended with such
pains and torments as when all the parts are out of joint. Hence
it is said of him, Psal. xxii. 14, 15. ' I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax, it is melted
in the midst of my bowels, my strength is dried up like a potsherd ;
and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws ; and thou hast brought me unto
the dust of death.' Now, thus did the Son of God suffer. His pure
and blessed hands, which were never stretched out but to do good,
were pierced and rent asunder ; and those feet which bore the Re-
deemer of the world, and for which the very waters had a reverence,
were nailed to a tree. His body which was the precious workman-
ship of the Holy Ghost, and the temple of the Deity was destroyed.
But his bodily sufferings were but the body of his sufferings. It
was the sufferings of his soul that was the soul of his sufferings. No
tongue can tell you what he endured here. When all the comfor-
ting influences of the Spirit were suspended, then an impetuous tor-
rent of unmixed sorrows broke into his soul. 0 what agonies and
conflicts, what sharp encounters, and distresses did he meet with
from the wrath of God that was poured out upon him ! He bore the
wrath of an angry God, j)ure wrath without any alloy or mixture,
and all that wrath which was due to the elect through all eternity
for their innumerable sins. Sin was so hateful to God, that nothing
could expiate it, or satisfy for it, but the death and bitter agonies
of his dear Son.
(4.) Consider the cause of his sufferings. It was not for any sin
of his own, for he had none, being holy, harmless, undefiled, and
separate from sinners. They were made his only by a voluntary
susception, by taking his people's sins upon him. And though they
were only imputed to him, yet God would not spare him. So that
there is nothing wherein the divine holiness and hatred of sin is so
OP GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS. 103
manifest as in the sufferings of his own dear Son. This was a
greater demonstration tliereof than if all men and angels had suf-
fered for it eternally in hell-fire.
It remains now to shut up this point with a few inferences.
1. Hence see the great evil of sin. It strikes against the divine
holiness, which is the peculiar glory of the Deity ; so that it is not
only contrary to our own interest, but to the very nature of God.
All sin aims in general at the being of God, but especially at the
holiness of his being. There are some sins that strike more directly
against one divine perfection, and some against another; but all
sins agree together in their enmity against the holiness of God.
Hence, when Sennacherib's sin is aggravated, the Holy Spirit takes
the rise from this perfection, 2 Kings xix. 22. ' Whom hast thou
reproached and blasphemed ? and against whom hast thou exalted
thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high ? even against the Holy
One of Israel.' God cannot but hate that which is directly oj)posite
to the glory of his nature, and the lustre and varnish of all his
other perfections. Now, what an horrid evil must that be which is
so contrary to the holy nature of God, and which is infinitely detes-
ted and abhorred by him?
2. Hence see the excellency of true gospel-holiness. Holiness is
the glory and beauty of God, and the glory of the heavenly angels;
and therefore it must be the glory of men and women, that which
makes them truly glorious. In this respect the king's daughter is
said to be all glorious within. The church is glorious, because she is
holy. Hence Christ sanctifies and cleanses it, that he may present
it to himself a glorious church, Eph. v. 25, 26. Holiness is the
image of God in the rational creature. The more holy one is, the
more like is he to God. This is our chief excellency. Man's origi-
nal glory and happiness consisted in this ; and the excellency of
angels above devils lies in this. Holiness hath a self-evidencing
excellency in it. There is such a beauty and majesty in it, as com-
mands an acknowledgment of it from the consciences of all sorts of
knowing men.
3. God can have no gracious communion with unholy sinners :
* For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness ? and
what communion hath light with darkness ?' 2 Cor. vi. 14. It is
simply impossible that an infinitely holy God should embrace vile
polluted sinners that are not washed from their filthiness. They
can liave no fellowship with him here or hereafter. God will not
give impure sinners one good look ; for ' he is of purer eyes than to
behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity,' Hab. i. 13. All com-
munion is founded on union, and union upon likeness. But what
104 OP GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS.
likeness is there between a holy God and vile polluted creatures ?
Therefore they can never expect to have any communion with hira,
unless they be made clean. Hence they are directed to this, in
order to their communion with God, Jam. iv. 8. ' Draw nigh to
God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sin-
ners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.' 2 Cor. vi. 17, 18.
* Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,
and touch not the unclean thing ; and I will receive you, and will
be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith
the Lord Almighty.'
4. The best of saints, who have attained the highest degrees, and
made the greatest improvements in holiness and purity, may be
ashamed in the presence of an infinitely holy God ; for they are far
short of that holiness which God requires, and all the purity they
have attained is sadly tinctured with impurity. It had this effect
upon the evangelical prophet, when he had a vision of the holy
God. Isa. vi. 5. ' Wo is me,' says he, ' for I am undone, because I
am of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips : for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.'
5. Despisers of holiness are despisers of God. For holiness is
the glory of God, and that in which he delights above all things.
For men, therefore, to despise holiness in the saints, and to make a
mock of their holy lives and practices, is a high contempt of the
holy God, who will highly resent such a great indignity done him.
6. There is no access to God without a Mediator. ' For our God
is a consuming fire,' Heb. xii. 29, and our sin hath made us as
stubble fully dry. He is infinitely pure and holy, and we are vile
filthy creatures ; so that it is quite impossible for us to have any
access to him, or communion with him, on our own account. We
have all reason to cry out, as 1 Sam. vi. 20. ' Who is able to stand
before this holy Lord God V There is no standing before him with-
out a Mediator. The spots and blemishes of our best duties cannot
be hid from the eyes of his holiness. He cannot accept of a righte-
ousness lower than that which bears some suitableness to the holiness
of his nature : but even our highest obedience and best righteousness
does not in any degree suit the divine holiness : and therefore it
cannot challenge any acceptance with God. The righteousness of
Christ, being the righteousness of God, a perfect and unspotted
righteousness, is that wherein alone the holiness of God can acqui-
esce, and is the foundation of all access to God, and communion
with him.
7. Is God infinitely and necessarily holy, so that he cannot but
hate sin ? then how admirable is the patience of God towards this
OF GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS. 105
land, and the generation wherein we live ? How ranch sin and
wickedness abounds amongst us ? Alas ! all kinds of sin wofully
prevail at this day among all ranks and degrees of persons, high
and low, rich and poor, noble and ignoble ; all have corrupted their
way. Sins of a heinous nature are to be found among us, such as
bid God defiance ; horrid blasphemies, hideous oaths, vile adulte-
ries, cruel oppressions, contempt of religion, and gross profanation
of the Lord's day. Add to all these, ingratitude, worldliness, pride,
and self-conceit among such as are more eminent for a profession of
religion. All these are committed under a clear gospel-light, after
signal mercies and deliverances, against the most solemn covenant
engagements, personal and national, and against manifold rebukes
and warnings from the word and providence of Grod. And alas !
how are these sins increased and multiplied ? "Who can compute
the number of the sins which one profane wretch is guilty of? But
what are these to the sins of a whole city ? and what are the sins of
a whole city to the sins of the whole nation ? Who can compute
the number of the sins which Scotland is guilty of in one day ? But
what are these to the sins which have been committed for a great
many years past ? Ah ! we are a people deeply laden with iniquity.
O what matter of admiration is here, that God bears so long with
us ! His holiness and purity renders his patience the more aston-
ishing. 0 the riches of his forbearance towards us ! Admire it
and adore it, and praise and bless him for it ; and beware of abusing
it, by taking liberty to go on in sin, because of it. Such an amaz-
ing patience, if abused, will render our judgment the more severe.
8. Lastly, Be exhorted to make a suitable improvement of the
holiness of God, by fleeing to Jesus Christ, whose perfect righteous-
ness alone can make you acceptable to God, and whose Spirit can
sanctify and cleanse you ; by giving thanks at the remembrance of
the divine holiness, by proclaiming the glory thereof ; and by study-
ing holiness in all manner of life and conversation.
Fifthly, The next communicable attribute of God that falls under
our consideration is his justice, which is the perfect rectitude of his
nature, whereby he is infinitely righteous and equal, both in him-
self, and in all his dealings with his creatures, Deut. xxxii. 4. * Just
and right is he.' God is just to himself in acting in all things
agreeable to his nature and perfections. All his actions are such
as become such a pure and holy being as he is. He cannot do any
thing that is contrary to the perfection of his nature : he cannot lie
nor deny himself. He is just to himself in maintaining his own
glory, and his divine rights and prerogatives ; for lie will not give
his glory to another. And he is just towards his creatures in all
106 OF GOD AND UIS PERFECTIONS.
his dealings with them, particularly with man. Here God may be
considered, 1. As a sovereign Lord ; and, 2. As supreme governor
and Judge of the world.
(1.) As sovereign Lord. And so he hath a right to do with his
own what he will. He may order and dispose of all the creatures
according to his pleasure, Dan. iv. 35. We are all in his hand as
clay in the hand of the potter. He hath a sovereign and absolute
right to use and dispose of us according to his own pleasure, to set
bounds to our habitation, carve out our lot in the world, and set us
high or low, in prosperity or adversity, as he pleaseth. It is so
also, as to his dispensations of grace. He may give grace to whom
he will, and Avithhold it from whom he will ; and what he wills in
that matter is just and right, because he wills it.
2. As supreme Governor and Judge of the world. And so he is
just in governing his rational creatures in a way agreeable to their
nature, according to a law which he has given them. His justice in
this character is either legislative or executive.
(L) There is a legislative justice, which is that whereby he gives
most just and righteous laws to his creatures, commanding and for-
bidding what is iit for them in right reason to do and forbear. ' For
the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our king, the Lord is our law-
giver,' Isa. xxxiii. 22. Man being a reasonable creature, capable of
moral government, therefore, that God might rule him according to
his nature, he hath given him a law, confirmed by promises of re-
ward, to draw him by hope, and by threatenings of punishment to
deter him by fear. Hence Moses tells the Israelites, that he had
* set before them life and good, and death and evil,' Deut. xxx. 15.
and that he had ' set before them life and death, blessing and curs-
ing,' ver. 19.
(2.) There is God's executive justice, called also by some his judi-
cial justice, by others his distributive justice. In this respect he is
just in giving every one his due, and in rendering unto all men ac-
cording to their works, without respect of persons. This executive
justice of God is either remunerative or afflictive.
[1.] There is a remunerative or rewarding justice. God is just in
rewarding the righteous. Psal. Iviii. 11. ' Verily there is a reward
for the righteous.' The saints shall not serve him for nought.
Though they may be losers for him, yet they shall not be losers by
him, Heb. vi. 10. ' God is not unrighteous to forget your work and
labour of love.' He bountifully rewards his people's obedience, and
their diligence and faithfulness in his service. Hence David says,
Psal. xviii. 20. ' The Lord rewardeth me according to my righte-
ousness.' Sometimes he rewards them with temporal blessings : for
OF GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS. 107
godliness liatli the j)roiuise of this life, as well as that which is to
come. Sometimes Providence doth notably interpose, and load
obedience with blessings here in the world, to the conviction of all
beholders, so that men are constrained to say, ' Verily there is a
reward for the righteous.' But however he do as to outward things,
yet he rewards his people with inward blessings. There are fresh
supplies and influences of grace, near and intimate communion with
him, sweet manifestations of his favour and love, intimations of
peace and pardon, and joy and peace in believing, &c. Even ' in
keeping his commandments there is great reward,' Psal. xix. 11.
And he rewards them with eternal blessings, 2 Thess. i. ?• Now,
this reward is not of debt but of grace. It doth not imply any
mei'it, but is free and gratuitous. It is not because they deserve it,
but because Christ has merited it, and God has graciously promised it.
(2.) There is an afflictive justice. God is just in all the afflictions
and troubles which he brings upon his creatures ; because he always
punishes sinners by a law. The violations of his holy and righte-
ous laws make them obnoxious to his judgments. Sometimes God
sends afflictions upon people to chastise and correct them for their
sins. Now, all the troubles of believers are of this kind : for as
many as he loves, he rebukes and chastens. Some of their afflic-
tions are intended to reduce them from their strayings. Hence
says David, ' Before I was afflicted I went astray,' and, ' It was
good for me that I was afflicted.' Indeed God chuseth some in the
furnace of affliction. The hot furnace is God's work-house wherein
he sometimes formeth vessels of honour. Manasseh is an eminent
instance of this. Many that were never serious before, are brought
to consider their ways in their affliction. Sometimes God takes
vengeance on wicked men for their sins and disobedience to his
laws : and this is called vindictive justice, Rom. iii. 5, 6. which is
essential to the nature of God, and is not merely an eifect of his
will. He cannot let sin go unpunished. He not only will not, but
he cannot acquit the wicked. But more of this afterwards.
The justice of God is manifested and discovered,
1. In the temporal judgments which he brings upon sinners even
in this life. The saints own this, Neh. ix. 33. t Thou art just in all
that is brought upon us.' The end and design of all God's judg-
ments is to witness to the world, that he is a just and righteous
God. All the fearful plagues and terrible judgments which God
has brought upon the world, proclaim and manifest his justice.
2. In sentencing so many of Adam's posterity to everlasting pains
and torments for sin, according to that dreadful sentence which
shall be pronounced at the last day, Matth. xxv. 41. ' Depart from
n2
108 OF GOD AND HIS PKRPECTIONS.
me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his
angels.' If you could descend into the bottomless pit, and view the
pains and torments of hell, and hear the terrible shrieks and roar-
ings of the damned wallowing in these sulphureous flames, you
could not shun to cry out, 0 the severity of divine justice ! Though
they are the works of God's own hands, and roar and cry under
their torments, yet they cannot obtain any mitigation of their pains,
nay, not so much as one drop of water to cool their tongues. That
an infinitely good and gracious God, that delights in mercy, should
thus torment so many of his own creatures, 0 how incorruptible
must his justice be !
3. In the death and sufferings of Christ. God gave his beloved
Son to the death for this end, that it might be known what a just
and righteous God he is. So the apostle shews us, Rom. iii. 25.
' Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his
blood, to declare his righteousness,' &c. He set him forth in gar-
ments rolled in blood, to declare his justice and righteousness to the
world. After man turned rebel, and apostatised from God, there
was no way to keep up the credit and honour of divine justice, but
either a strict execution of the law's sentence, or a full satisfaction.
The execution would have destroyed the whole race of Adam.
Therefore Christ stepped in, and made a suflicient satisfaction by
his death and suff'erings, that so God might exercise his mercy with-
out prejudice to his justice. Thus the blood of the Son of God must
be shed for sin, to let the world see that he is a just and righteous
God. The justice of God could and would be satisfied with no less.
Hence it is said, Rom. viii. 32. ' God spared not his own Son, but
delivered him up to the death for us all.' If forbearance might
have been expected from any, surely it might from God, who is full
of pity and tender mercy : yet God in this case spared him not. If
one might have expected sparing mercy and abatement from any,
surely Christ might most of all expect it from his awn Father ; yet
God spared not his own Son. Sparing mercy is the lowest degree
of mercy ; yet it was denied to Christ, when he stood in the room of
the elect. God abated him not a minute of the time appointed for
his sufferings, nor one degree of the wrath which he was to bear.
Nay, though in the garden, when Christ fell on the ground, and put
up that lamentable and pitiful cry, ' Father, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me ;' yet no abatement was granted to him.
The Father of mercies saw his dear Son humbled in his presence,
and yet dealt with him in extreme severity. The sword of justice
was in a manner asleep before, in all the terrible judgments wliich
had been executed on the world, but now it must be awakened and
OF aOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS. 109
roused up to pierce the heart of the blessed Redeemer. Hence it is
said, Zech. xiii. 7. ' Awake 0 sword, agaiust my shepherd, and
against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts : smite
the shepherd.' If divine justice had descended from heaven in a
visible form, and hanged up millions of sinners in chains of wrath,
it had not been such a demonstration of the wrath of God, and his
hatred of sin, as the death and sufferings of his own Son. When
we hear that God exposed his own Son to the utmost severity of
wrath and vengeance, may we not justly cry out 0 the infinite evil
of sin ! 0 the inflexible severity of divine justice ! It is a fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
4. The justice of God will be clearly manifested at the great day.
God hath reared up many trophies already to the honour of his
power and justice out of the ruins of his most insolent enemies :
but then will be the most solemn triumph of divine justice. The
apostle tells us. Acts xvii. 31. that 'he hath appointed a day in the
which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom
he hath ordained : whereof he hath given assurance unto all men,
in that he hath raised him from the dead.' On that awful day the
justice and righteousness of God shall be clearly revealed, therefore
it is called ' the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of
God,' Rom. ii. 5. The equity of God's dealings and dispensations is
not now so fully seen : but all will be open and manifest on that
day. Then he will liberally reward the righteous, and severely
punish the wicked.
5. God's justice will shine for ever in the torments of the damned
in hell. The smoke of their furnace, their yellings and roarings,
will proclaim through eternity the inexorable justice and severity
of God. It is not enough for the satisfaction of his justice to de-
prive them of heaven and hai)piness ; but he will inflict the most
tormenting punishment upon sense and conscience in hell. For as
both soul and body were guilty in this life, the one as the guide, the
other as the instrument of sin, so it is but just and equal that they
should both feel the penal effects of it hereafter. Sinners shall then
be tormented in that wherein they most delighted : they shall then
be invested with those objects which will cause the most dolorous
perceptions in their sensitive faculties. The lake of fire and brim-
stone, the blackness of darkness, for ever, are words of a terrible
signification. But no words can fully express the terrible ingredi-
ents of their misery. Their punishment will be in proportion to the
glory of God's majesty that is provoked, and the extent of his
power. And as the soul was the principal, and the body but an ac-
cessary in the works of sin ; so its capacious faculties shall be far
u 3
.110 OP GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS.
more tormented than the limited facnlties of the outward senses.
The fi<^ry attributes of God shall be transmitted through tlie glass of
conscience, and concentred upon damned spirits. The fire without
will not be so tormenting as the fire within them. Then all the tor-
menting passions will be inflamed. "What rancour, reluctance, and
rage, will there he against the just power that sentenced them to
hell ! what impatience and indignation against themselves for their
wilful and inexcusable sins, the just cause of it ! how will they
curse their creation, and wish their utter extinction as the final
remedy of their misery ! But all their ardent wishes will be in
vain. For the guilt of sin will never be expiated, nor God so far
reconciled as to annihilate them. As long as there is justice in hea-
ven, or fire in hell, as long as God and eternity shall continue, they
must suff"er those torments which the strength and patience of an
angel cannot bear one hour. The justice of God -will blaze forth for
ever in the agonies and torments of the damned.
It may not be improper here to take notice of, and answer some
objections that are made against the divine justice.
Object. 1. If God be infinitely just and righteous, how stands it
with his justice that insolent contemners of his majesty and laws
should prosper in the world ? This was observed by the saints long
ago ; see Psal. Ixxiii. 5, 6, 7, 12 ; and has proved a stumbling-block
to some of God's own children, and has been apt to make them ques-
tion his justice ; see Job xxi. 7- — 14. Jer. xii. 1, 2. But in answer,
consider,
1. That the wicked may be sometimes instruments to do God's
work. Though they do not design and intend his glory, yet they
may be instrumental in promoting it. Thus Cyrus was instrumental
for the building of God's temple at Jerusalem. Now there is some
kind of justice in it that such persons should have a temporal re-
ward. God is pleased to sufi*er those to prosper under whose wings
his own people are sheltered. He will not be in any man's debt.
Nebuchadnezzar did some service for God, and the Lord rewarded
him for it by granting him an enlargement of greatness, Ezek. xxix.
18, 19, 20.
2. God doth not always let the wicked prosper in their sin. There
are some whom he punisheth openly, that his justice may be observed
by all. Hence the Psalmist saith, ' The wicked is snared in the
work of his own hands,' Psal. ix. 16. Sometimes their prosperity is
but short lived, and they are suddenly cast down, as the Psalmist
remarks, Psal. Ixxiii. 18, 19, 20. His justice is seen sti'iking men
dead sometimes in the very act of sin ; as in the case of Zimri and
Cozbi, Pharaoh, Sennacherib, &c.
OF GOD AND HIS TERFECTIONS. Ill
3. God suffers men to go on in sin and prosper, that he may ren-
der them the more inexcusable. This goodness and forbearance
should lead them to repentance ; and when it does not, it aggravates
their sin, and makes them the more inexcusable, when he comes to
reckon with them. Hence it is said of Jezebel, ' I gave her space
to repent of her fornication, and she repented not,' Rev. ii. 21. God
spins out his mercies toward sinners ; and if they do not repent and
amend, his patience will be a witness against them, and his justice
will be more cleared in their condemnation.
4. If God let the wicked prosper for a while, the vial of his wrath
is all that while filling up, his sword is whetting and though he for-
bear them for a time, yet long-suffering is not forgiveness. The
longer it be ere he give the blow, it will be the heavier when it
comes. The last scene of justice is coming, when the wicked shall
be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. There is a
day of wrath approaching, and revelation of the righteous judgment
of God. Then he will glorify his justice in taking vengeance on
them for all their sins. God hath an eternity in which he will
punish the wicked. Divine justice may be as a lion asleep for a time :
but at last this lion will awake, and roar upon the sinner. Their
long continued prosperity will heighten their eternal condemnation.
There are many sinners in hell who lived in great pomp and pro-
sperity in the world, and are now roaring under the terrible lashes
of inexorable justice. Thus ye may see that the prosperity of the
wicked is consistent enough with the justice of God.
Object. 2. God's own people oft-times suffer great afflictions in the
world ; they are persecuted and oppressed, and meet with a variety
of troubles, Psal. Ixxiii. 14. How stands this with the justice of
God?
Am. 1. The ways of God's judgments, though they are sometimes
secret, yet they are never unjust. God doth not afflict willingly,
nor grieve the children of men. There are culpable causes in them
from which their afflictions spring. They have their spots and
blemishes as well as others. Though they may be free from gross
and atrocious crimes, yet they are guilty of much pride and passion,
censoriousness, worldliuess, &c. And the sins of God's people are
more provoking in his sight than the sins of other men. And God
will not suffer them to pass without correction, Amos iii. 2. ' You
only have I known of all the families of the earth ; therefore I will
punish you for your iniquities.' This justifies God in all the evils
that befal them.
2. All the trials and sufferings of the godly are designed to refine
and purify them, to promote their spiritual and eternal good, Heb.
112 OF GOD AND IIIS PERFECTIONS.
xii. 10. Nothing proclaims Grod's faithfulness more than his taking
such a course with them as may make them better. Hence says
David, Psal. cxix. 75. ' I know, 0 Lord, that thy judgments are
right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.' Though they
are sometimes pinched with wants, and meet with various outward
troubles, yet even these are the accomplishments of a gracious pro-
mise, and are ordered for their good. It is to chastise them for
their sin, and quicken them to repentance and mortification, to try
and exercise their faith and patience, their sincerity and love to
God, to wean their hearts from the world, and to promote their
growth in grace.
3. It is no injustice in God to inflict a lesser punishment to pre-
vent a greater. The best of God's children have that in them which
is meritorious of hell ; and doth God any wrong to them when he
usetli only the rod, when they deserved the scorpion ? • An earthly
parent will not be reckoned cruel or unjust, if he only correct his
children who deserved to be disinherited. When God corrects his
children, he only puts wormwood into their cup, whereas he might
fill it up with fire and brimstone. Under the greatest pressure,
they have just cause rather to admire his mercy, than to complain
of his justice. So did the afflicted church, ' It is of the Lord's mer-
cies that we are not consumed.'
Object. 3. If God be infinitely just, how could he transfer the
punishment from the guilty ? This is the objection of the Socinians
against Christ's suffering for the sins of the elect. It is a violation
of justice, say they, to transfer the punishment from one to another.
How then could the righteous God punish his innocent Sou for our
sins ?
I answer to this in general, That in some cases it is not unjust to
punish the innocent for the guilty. For though an innocent person
cannot suffer as innocent without injustice, yet he may voluntarily
contract an obligation which will expose him to deserved sufteriugs.
The innocent may suffer for the guilty, when he has power to dis-
pose of his own life, and puts himself freely and voluntarily under
an obligation to sutter, and is admitted to suftcr by him who has
power to punish, and when no detriment, but rather an advantage,
accrues to the public thereby. In these circumstances, justice hath
nothing to say against the punishing of an innocent person in the
room of the guilty. Now, there is a concurrence of all these in the
case in hand. Tor,
1. Christ had absolute power to dispose of himself. One reason
why a man is not allowed to lay down his life for another is, be-
cause his life is not at his own disposal. But Christ was absolute
OF GOD AND IIIS PERFECTIONS. 113
lord of liis own life, and had power to keep it or lay it down as he
pleased. So he declares, John x. 18. ' No man taketh it from me,
but I lay it down of myself: I have power to lay it down, and I
liave power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my Father.'
2. He freely consented to suffer for his people, and to undergo
the puuishraent that they deserved. To compel an innocent person
to suffer for the offences of another, may be an injury. But in this
case there was no constraint : for Christ most willingly offered him-
self: yea, he was not only willing, but most earnest and desirous to
suffer and die in our room, Luke xii. 50. ' T have a baptism to be
baptized with ; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished ?'
3. The Father admitted him as our Surety, and was well content
that his sufferings should stand for ours, and that we thereupon
should be absolved and discharged. It was the Father's will that
Christ should undertake this work. Hence it is said, Psal. xl. 8.
*I delight to do thy will, 0 my God.' And the Father loved Christ,
because he so cheerfully consented to it, John x. 17. 'Therefore
doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might
take it again.'
4. There Avas no detriment to the public by Christ's death ; but,
on the contrary, many advantages redounded to it thereby. One
reason why an innocent man cannot suffer for a malefactor is, be-
cause the community would lose a good man, and might suffer by the
sparing of an ill member, and the innocent sufferer cannot have his
life restored again being once lost. But in this case all things are
quite otherwise : for Christ laid down his life, but so as to take it
np again. He rose again on the third day, and death was swal-
lowed up of victory. And those for whom he suffered were reclaim-
ed, effectually changed, and made serviceable to God and man. So
that here there was no injury done to any party by Christ's suffer-
ings, though an innocent person. Not to them for whom he died ;
for they have inexpressible benefit thereby : he is made to them
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Not to the
person suffering : for he was perfectly willing, and suffered nothing
Avitliout his own consent. Not to God : for he himself found out the
ransom, and admitted Christ as our Surety. Not to any thing con-
cerned in the government of God : for by the death of Christ all the
ends of God's government were secured. His honour Avas hereby
vindicated, the authority of his law preserved, and his subjects, by
such an instance of severity on his own Son, were deterred from vio-
lating it. So that there is no iyjustice to any in God's punishing
Christ in his people's stead.
114 OF GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS.
Object. 4. How is it consistent with the justice of God to punish
temporary sins with eternal torments in hell ? Some think it hard,
and scarcely consistent with infinite justice, to inflict eternal punish-
ment for sins committed in a little time. But to clear the justice of
God in this, consider,
1. That eternal punishment is agreeable to the sanction of the
law. The wisdom of God required, that the penalty threatened
upon the transgressor should be in its own nature so dreadful and
terrible, that the fear of it might conquer and over-rule all the al-
lurements and temptations to sin. If it had not been so, it would
have reflected upon the wisdom of the Lawgiver, as if he had been
defective, in not binding his subjects firmly enough to their duty,
and the ends of government would not have been obtained. And
therefore the first and second death was threatened to Adam in case
of disobedience. And fear, as a watchful sentinel, was placed in
his breast, that no guilty thought or irregular desire should enter
in to break the tables of the law deposited there. So that eternal
death is due to sinners by the sanction of the law.
2. The righteousness of God in punishing the wicked for ever in
hell will appear, if ye consider that God by his infallible promise
assures ns, that all who sincerely serve and obey him shall be re-
warded with everlasting happiness. They shall receive a blessed-
ness most worthy of God to bestow, a blessedness that far surmounts
our most comprehensive thoughts and imaginations. For eye hath
not seen, ear hath not heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of
man to conceive, what God hath prepared for them that love him.
Now, if everlasting felicity be despised and rejected, nothing re-
mains but endless misery to be the sinner's portion. The conse-
quence is infallible : For if sin, with an eternal hell in its retinue
be chosen and embraced, it is most just and equal that the rational
creature should inherit the fruit of its own choice. What can be
more just and reasonable, than that those who are the slaves of the
devil, and maintain his party here in the world, should have their
recompense with him for ever hereafter? Nothing can be more just,
than that those who now say to the Almighty, Depart from us, we
desire not the knowledge of thy ways, should receive that dreadful sen-
tence at last, Depart frmn me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.
3. The punishment of the damned must be eternal, because of tlie
immense guilt and infinite evil of sin. It is owned by common
reason, that there ought to be a proportion between the quality of
the ofl'ence and the degree of the punishment. Justice takes the
scales into its hand before it takes the sword. It is a rule in all
sorts of judicature, that the degrees of an offence arise according to
OF GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS. 115
the degrees of dignity in the person offended. Now, the majesty of
God is truly infinite, against whom sin is committed; and conse-
quently the guilt of sin exceeds our boundless thoughts. One act
of sin is rebellion against God, and includes in it the contempt of
his majesty, the contradiction of his holiness, which is his peculiar
glory, tlie denial of his omniscience and omnipresence, as if he were
confined to the heavens, and busied in regulating the harmonious
order of the stars, and did not observe what is done here below.
And there is in it a defiance of his eternal power, and a provoking
him to jealousy, as if we were stronger than he. 0, what a dis-
honour is it to the God of glory, that proud dust should flee in his
face, and controul his authority ! What a horrid provocation is it
to the Most High, that the reasonable creature, that is naturally
and necessarily a subject, should despise the divine law and Law-
giver ? From this it appears that sin is an infinite evil. There is
in it a concurrence of impiety, ingratitude, perfidiousness, and what-
ever may enhance a crime to an excess of wickedness. Now, sin
being an infinite evil, the punishment ©f it must also be infinite ;
and because a creature is not able to bear a punishment infinite in
degree, by reason of its finite and limited nature, therefore it must
be infinite in its duration. And for this cause the punishment of
the damned shall never have an end. The almighty power of God
will continue them in their being, but they will curse and blaspheme
that support, which shall be given them only to perpetuate their
torments ; and ten thousand times wish that God would destroy
them once for all, and that they might for ever shrink away into
nothing. But that will never be granted to them. No ; they shall
not have so much as the comfort of dying, nor shall they escape the
vengeance of God by annihilation.
4. Their punishment must be eternal : for they will remain for
ever unqualified for the least favour. The damned are not changed
in hell, but continue their hatred and blasphemies against God.
The seeds of this are in obstinate sinners here in the world, who
are styled haters of God: but in the damned this hatred is direct
and explicit ; the fever is heightened into a phrenzy. The glorious
and ever-blessed God is the object of their curses and eternal aver-
sion. Our Lord tells us, that in hell ' there is weeping and gnash-
ing of teeth,' I. e. extreme sorrow and extreme fury. Despair and
rage are the proper passions of lost souls. For when the guilty
sufferers are so weak, that they cannot by patience endure their tor-
ments, nor by strength resist the power that infiicts them, and
withal arc wicked and stubborn, they are enraged and irritated by
their misery, and foam out blasphemies against the righteous Judge.
116 OF aOD AND niS PERFECTIONS.
We may apply to this purpose what is said of the Trorshippers of
the beast, RcA^ xvi. 10, 11. ' Tliey gnawed their tongues for pain,
and blasphemed the God of heaven, because of their i)ains and their
sores, and repented not of their deeds.' The torment and blasphe-
mies of these impenitent idolaters are a true representation of the
state of the damned. Now, as they will always sin ; so they must
always suffer. On these accounts, then, it is agreeable to the wis-
dom and justice of Grod that their pains and torments be eternal.
But now it is time to shut up this point with a few inferences.
1. It is inconsistent with the nature of God to let sin go un-
punished ; or, vindictive justice is essential to God. To clear this,
consider,
(1.) This is evident from the light of nature. For that God is
just, is strongly and deeply stamped upon the minds of the children
of men. Hence, when the barbarians saw the viper fasten upon
Paul's hand, they cried out that vengeance pursued him as a mur-
derer. Acts xxviii. 4. The very instinct of nature told them, that
there was a connection beiween guilt and punishment. To deny
God to be just, is to offer violence to the principles of nature, to
put a lie upon those notions which are born with and impressed
upon our reason. It is to condemn conscience as a cheat, and all
the terrors thereof as a false alarm. In a word, it is to eradicate
all religion, and to open a flood-gate to all wickedness and impiety.
(2.) This aj)pears from scripture assertions and examples. [1.]
Consider scripture examples and declarations, such as Rev. xvi. 5.
' Thou art righteous, 0 Lord, because thou hast judged, Rom. ii. 5.
— ' The righteous judgment of God,' 2 Thess. i. 6. 'It is a righte-
ous thing with God to recompence with tribulation,' Heb. ii. 2.
' Every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence
of reward,' Heb. xii. 29. ' Our God is a consuming fire,' Rom. i. 32.
' Knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such
things are worthy of death.' Compare Gen. xviii. 25. * Shall not
the Judge of all the earth do right ?' [2.] Think upon scripture-
examples, with respect to this matter. The angels, the flower and
glory of the creation, the first-born of intelligent beings, when they
revolted from their Maker, were doomed and cast into hell, where
they lie reserved in chains of darkness unto the judgment of the
last day. Our first parents, and in them all their posterity, because
of their apostasy, were sentenced to death and misery. The old
world, except eight persons, were swept off the face of the earth, by
a devouring deluge, on account of their impiety. Sodom and Go-
morrah were by fire from heaven consumed to ashes, because of
their vile uncleanness. The Egyptians sunk under multiplied
OF aOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS. 117
plagues, because they hardened themselves against the Lord, and
would not let Israel go. Yea, the Israelites themselves met with
many severe judgments in the wilderness, in Canaan, and in Baby-
lon, because they rebelled against the Lord their God. In a word,
this people at last, for murdering the Messiah, and rejecting the
gospel, were destroyed with a great destruction at the siege of Jeru-
salem, where eleven thousand perished by sword, famine, and pesti-
lence, and very near a hundred thousand more were carried away
captive.
8. This appears from the nature of God, which carries in it the
utmost detestation of sin ; and this necessarily produces punishment.
' Upon the wicked God will rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an
horrible tempest,' Psal. xi. 6. Now the reason of all this holy
severity is given in the very next verse, ' For the righteous Lord
loveth righteousness.' His holy nature prompts him to love righte-
ousness, and consequently to hate and punish all unrighteousness.
(4.) It is evident from the nature of sin. "What is sin but the
offering of the highest indignity to the infinite and Supreme Being,
the Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor of mankind ? It is an af-
fronting of all his perfections, a reflection upon his wisdom, a con-
tempt of his power, an insult to his holiness, a disparagement of his
goodness, and an open defiance to his truth and faithfulness. If
then sin be such an evil, an evil infinitely worse than we are capable
to represent it, how can any imagine that God will forbear or ne-
glect to punish such who obstinately live and die in the practice of
it?
(5.) This will appear, if ye consider God as a Governor and Law-
giver. For his authority as such can never be preserved and main-
tained, if there be an universal impunity of criminal offences.
Rebellion against Heaven would spread far and wide, devils and
wicked men would grow absolutely unruly, the Divine Majesty and
dominion would become contemptible, and his glorious sovereignty
would be rendered vile and despicable, if bold offenders were not
severely checked and punished for their enormities.
(6.) Consider, that if vindictive justice be not essential to God, it
will be very hard, if not impossible, to give any tolerable account of
the death and sufferings of Christ.
1. Is God infinitely just? Then there is a judgment to come.
The justice of God requires that men should reap according to what
they have sown ; that it should be well with the righteous, and ill
with the wicked. But it is not appa^rently so now in this present
world. Here things are out of course ; sin is rampant, and runs
with a rapid violence. Many times the most guilty sinners are not
118 OF GOD AND HIS PERFECTIONS.
punished in the present life ; tliey not only escape the justice of
men, but are under no conspicuous marks of the justice of God. As
sinners i)rosper and flourish, so saints are wronged and oppressed.
They are often cast in a right cause, and can meet with no justice
on the earth ; yea, the best men are often in the worst condition,
and merely upon account of their goodness. They are borne down
and oppressed, because they do not make resistance ; and are
loaded with sufferings many times, because they bear them with pa-
tience. And the reason of these dispensations is, because now is
the time of God's patience and of our trial. Therefore there must
be a day wherein the justice of God shall be made manifest. Then
he will set all things right. He will crown the righteous^ and con-
demn the wicked. Then God shall have the glory of his justice,
and his righteousness shall be openly vindicated. At the last day
God's sword shall be drawn against offenders, and his justice shall
be revealed before all the world. At that day all mouths shall be
stopped, and God's justice shall be fully vindicated from all the
cavils and clamours of unjust men.
2. This lets us see how unlike to God many men are. Some have
no justice at all. Though their place and office oblige them to it,
they neither fear God nor regard man. Many times they pervert
justice, they decree unrighteous decrees, Isa. x. 1. Many are unjust
in their dealings ; they trick, cheat, and defraud their neighbours ;
sometimes in using false weights, the balances of deceit are in their
hands, Hos. xii. 7- Some hold the Bible in one hand, and false
weights in the other ; they cozen, defraud, and cheat, under a spe-
cious profession of religion. Some adulterate their commodities ;
their wine is mixed with water, Isa. i. 22. .They mix bad grain
with good, and yet sell it for pure grain. There are many ways by
which men deceive and impose upon their neighbours. All which
shew what a rare commodity justice is among them. But remember
this is very unlike God. For he is the just and right one ; he is
righteous in all his ways. That man cannot possibly be godly who
is not just. We are commanded to imitate him in all his imitable
perfections. Though he doth not bi*d you be omnipotent, yet you
ought to be just.
3. Is God iniinitely just ? Then we must not expostulate with or
demand a reason of his actions. He hath not only authority on his
side, but justice and equity. In all his dispensations towards men,
however afflictive they be, he is just and righteous. He layeth
judgment to the line, and righteousness to the plummet, Isa. xxviii.
17- It is below him to give an account to us of any of his proceed-
ings. The plumb-line of our reason is too short to fathom the great
OP GOD AND ins PERFECTIONS. 119
depths of God's justice : for his judgments are unsearchable, and his
ways past finding out, Rom. xi. 33. We are to adore his justice,
where we cannot see the reason of it. God's justice hath often been
wronged, but never did Avrong to any. How unreasonable, then, is
it for men to expostulate with and dispute against God ?
4. Is God infinitely just ? Then the salvation of sinners who
have believed in Christ is most secure, and they need not doubt of
pardon and acceptance. ' God is faithful and just to forgive them
their sins,' 1 John i. 9. God hath promised it, and he will not
break his word ; yea, he stands bound injustice to do it; for Christ
hath satisfied his justice for all your sins who are believers, so that
it hath nothing to crave of you. It doth not stand with the justice
of God to exact the same debt from you. Your Redeemer did not
only satisfy justice, but also merited the exercise of it on your be-
half. Hence it is that God is bound in justice to justify you upon
your believing on Christ ; for he is just, and the justifier of him that
belie veth in Jesus, Rom. iii. 26. So that the thoughts even of
divine justice, which are terrible to others, may be comfortable to
believers.
5. Is God infinitely just ? Then the destruction of wicked and
impenitent sinners is infallibly certain. For the just God will by
no means acquit the guilty. His justice, which is essential to him,
cannot but take vengeance on you.
6. Lastly, However severely the Lord deals with us, he neither
doth nor can do us any wrong ; and therefore we should lay our
hand on our mouth. Lam. iii. 39. ' "Why doth a living man complain,
a man for the jjunishment of his sins ?'
SixtJdy, The goodness of God is the next communicable attribute
that falls to be considered. The divine goodness is that essential
property whereby he is altogether good in himself, and the author
of all good to his creatures : Thou art good, and dost good, says the
Psalmist, Ps. cxix. 68. There is a twofold goodness of God ; his
absolute and his relative goodness.
1. There is an absolute goodness of God. This is that whereby
he is conceived to be good in himself, without any relation to his
creatures. God is thus good because his nature is infinitely perfect.
2. There is his relative goodness, by which we are to understand
his bounty and benignity. As all fulness dwells in him, so he hath
a strong inclination to let it out to his people on all occasions. The
whole earth is full of his goodness, Psal. xxxiii. 5.
The goodness of God is manifested,
1. In creation. There is no other perfection of the divine nature
so eminently visible in the whole book of the creatures as this is.
120 OF GOI> AND HIS PERFECTIONS.
ITis goodness was the cause that he made any thing, and liis wisdom
was the cause that he made every thing in order and harmony.
Here the goodness of God shines with a glorious lustre. All the
varieties of the creatures which he hath made are so many beams
and apparitions of his goodness. It was great goodness to commu-
nicate being to some things without himself, and to extract such a
multitude of things from the depths of nothing, and to give life and
breath to some of these creatures. Divine goodness formed their
natures, beautified and adorned them with their several ornaments
and perfections, whereby every thing was enabled to act for the
good of the common world. Every creature hath a character of
divine goodness upon it. The whole world is a map to represent,
and a herald to proclaim, this amiable perfection of God. But the
goodness of God is manifested especially in the creation of man.
He raised him from the dust by his almighty power, and placed him
in a more sublime condition, and endued him with choicer preroga-
tives, than the rest of the creatures. What is man's soul and body
but like a cabinet curiously carved, with a rich and precious gem
inclosed in it ! God hath made him an abridgment of the whole cre-
ation : the links of the two worlds, heaven and earth, are united in
him. He communicates with the earth in the dust of his body, and
he participates with the heavens in the crystal of his soul. He has
the life of angels in his reason, and that of animals in his sense.
Further, the divine goodness is manifested in making man after his
image, in furnishing the world with so many creatures for his use,
in giving him dominion over the works of his hands, and making
him lord of this lower world.
2. In our redemption by Jesus Christ. 0 what astonishing good-
ness was it for the great and glorious God to give his only begotten
Son to the death for such vile rebels and enemies as we all are by
nature ! The goodness of God, under the name of his love, is ren-
dered as the only cause of our redemption by Christ, John iii. 16.
' God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting
life.' This is an inexpressible so, a so that all the angels of heaven
cannot analyse. None can conceive or understand the boundless
extent and dimensions of it. God gave Christ for us to commend
his love, and set it off with an admirable lusti'e. ' God commended
his love towards us (saith the apostle), in that while we were yet
enemies, Christ died for us.' 0 what an expensive goodness and
love was this ! Our redemption cost God more than what was laid
out on the whole creation. ' The redemption of the soul is precious,'
says the Psalmist. ' We are not redeemed with corruptible things,
OP THE UNITY OF GOD, 137
cast auchor. Here would be a continual confusion, and the ship
must needs perish. The order and harmony of the world, the con-
stant and uniform government of all things, is a plain argument,
that there is but one only Omnipotent being that rules all.
(5.) The supposition of a plurality of gods is destructive to all
true religion. For if there wei*e more than one God, we would be
obliged to worship and serve more than one. But this it is impos-
sible for us to do ; as will plainly appear, if ye consider what di-
vine worship and service is. Keligious worship and adoration must
be performed with the whole man. This is what the divine emi-
nence and excellency requires, that we love him with all our heart,
soul and strength, and serve him with all the powers and faculties
of our souls, and members of our bodies ; and that our whole man,
time, strength, and all we have, be entirely devoted to him alone.
But this cannot be done to a plurality of gods. For in serving and
worshipping a plurality, our hearts and strength, our time and
talents, would be divided among them. To this purpose our Lord
argues, Matth. vi. 24. 'No man can serve two masters: for either he
, ~^ill hate the one, and love the other ; or else he will hold to the
' **^ e, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.'
Mammon is thought to be an idol, which the heathens reckoned to
be the god of money and riches. Now, says Christ, you cannot
serve them both ; if you would have the Lord for your God, and
serve him, you must renounce mammon. We cannot serve two gods
or masters : if but one require our whole time and strength, we can-
not serve the other.
6. If there might be more gods than one, nothing would hinder
why there might not be one, or two, or three millions of them. No
argument can be brought for a plurality of gods, suppose two or
three, but what a man might, by parity of reason, make use of for
ever so many. Hence it is, that when men have once begun to
fancy a plurality of gods, they have been endless in such fancies
and imaginations. To this purpose is that charge against the Jews,
who in this conformed themselves very much to the nations round
about them, ' According to the number of thy cities are thy gods,
O Judah,' Jer. ii. 28. Varro reckons up three hundred gods whom
the heathens worshipped, and Ilesiod reckons about three thousand
of them. Indeed, if we once begin to fancy more gods than one,
where shall we make an end ? So that the opinion or conception of
a plurality of gods is most ridiculous and irrational.
And this should be observed against those who pretend, that the
Father is the most high God, and that there is no most high God
but one, yet that there is another true God, viz. Christ, who in
K
138 OF THE UNITY OF GOD.
very deed, as to them, is bnt a mere man ; yet they pretend he is
the true God. Christ is Glod, and the true and most high God.
But, in opposition to them, consider that to be a man and to be a
God are opposite, and cannot be said of one in respect of one
nature, Jer. xxxi. 3. Acts xiv. 15. Jer. x. 11.
I shall now shut up this subject with a few inferences.
1. Wo to atheists, then, whether they be such in heart or life ;
for their case is dreadful and desperate : and they shall sooner or
later feel the heaviest strokes of the vengeance of that God whom
they impiously deny, whether in opinion or by works. To dissuade
from this fearful wickedness, consider,
(1.) That atheism is most irrational. It is great folly ; and there-
fore the Psalmist saith, Psal. xiv. 1. ' The fool hath said in his
heart, There is no God.' It is contrary to the stream of universal
reason ; contrary to the natural dictates of the atheist's own soul ;
and contrary to the testimony of every creature. The atheist hath
as many arguments against him as there are creatures in heaven
and earth. Besides, it is most unreasonable for any man to hazard
himself on this bottom in the denial of a God. May he not reason
thus with himself, what if there be a God, for any thing that I
know ? then what a dreadful case will I be in when I find it so ? If
there be a God, and I fear and serve him, I gain a blessed and glo-
rious eternity ; but if there be no God, I lose nothing but my sordid
lusts, by believing that there is one. Now, ought not reasonable
creatures to argue thus with themselves ? What a doleful meeting
will there be between the God who is denied, and the atheist that
denies him ! He will meet with fearful reproaches on God's part,
and with dreadful terrors on his own : all that he gains is but a
liberty to sin here, and a certainty to suffer for it hereafter, if he be
in an error, as undoubtedly he is.
(2.) Atheism is most impious. What horrid impiety is it for
men to deny their Creator a being, without whose goodness they
could have had none themselves ? Nay, every atheist is a Deicide,
a killer of God as much as in him lies. He aims at the destruction
of his very being. The atheist says upon the matter, that God is
unworthy of a being, and that it were well if the world were rid of
him.
(3.) Atheism is of pernicious consequence both to others and to
the atheist himself. To others : for (1.) It would root out the
foundation of government, and demolish all order among men. The
being of God is the great guard of the world : for it is the sense of a
Deity, upon which all civil order in cities and kingdoms is founded.
Without this, there is no tie upon the consciences of men to restrain
them from the most attrocious impieties and villanies. A city of
OP THE UNITY OP GOD. 139
atheists would be a heap of confusion. There could be no traffic
nor commerce, if all the sacred bonds of it in the consciences of men
were thus snapt asunder by denying the existence of God. (2.) It
is introductive of all evil into the world. If you take away God,
you take away conscience, and thereby all rules of good and evil.
And how could any laws be made, when the measure and standard
of them is removed ? for all good laws are founded upon the dic-
tates of conscience and reason, and upon common sentiments in hu-
man nature, which spring from a sense of God. So that if the
foundation be destroyed, the whole superstructure must needs tumble
down. A man might be a thief, a murderer, and an adulterer, and
yet in a strict sense not be an offender. The worst of actions could
not be evil, if a man were a god to himself. "Where there is no
sense of God, the bars are removed, and the flood gates of all impi-
ety rush in upon mankind. The whole earth would be filled with
violence, and all flesh would corrupt their way.
Again, atheism is pernicious to the atheist himself, who denys
the being of God, or endeavours to erase all notions of the Deity
out of his mind. "What can he gain by this but a sordid pleasure,
unworthy of a reasonable nature ? And suppose there were no
God, what can he lose but his fleshly lusts, by believing there is
one ? By believing and confessing a God, a man ventures no loss ;
but by denying him, he runs the most desperate hazard if there be
one. For this exposes him to the most dreadful wrath and ven-
geance of God. If there be a hotter receptacle in hell than ano-
ther, it will be reserved for the atheist, who strikes and fights
against God's very being.
(4.) Atheists are worse than heathens : for they worshipped
many gods, but these worship none at all. They preserved some
notion of God in the world, but these would banish him from both
heaven and earth. They degraded him, but these would destroy
him. Tea, they are worse than the very devils : for the devils are
under the dread of this truth. That God is. It is said they * believe
and tremble,' Jam. ii. 19. It is impossible for them to be atheists
in opinion ; for they feel there is a God by that sense of his wrath
that torments them. There may be atheists in the church, but
there are none in hell. Thus atheism is a most dreadful evil, most
carefully to be guarded against.
Inf. 2. Seeing there is one only the living and true God, we owe
the most perfect and unlimited obedience to his will. AVc are to
obey the will of his command with readiness and alacrity ; and sub-
mit to the will of his providence with the utmost cheerfulness, with-
out fretting or murmuring.
k2
140 OP THE UNITY OP GOD.
Inf, 3. Is God one ? then his children should live in unity, that
they may be one as he is one. They should study to be one in judg-
ment and opinion, one in affection, and one in practice. We should
all live as the family of one God, carefully avoiding divisions, and
whatever may tend to interrupt the communion of saints.
Inf. 4. Seeing God is one, he should be the centre of our affec-
tions, love, fear, delight, joy, he. Deut. vi. 4, 5. ' Hear, 0 Israel,
the Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
might.'
I shall conclude all with a few directions.
1. Beware of such opinions as tend to atheism, and aim at the
undermining of this supreme truth, that God is. There are many
opinions which have a woful tendency this way. Such is that of
denying the immortality of the soul. This is a stroke at a distance
at the very being of God, who is the Supreme Spirit. There is an
order among spirits ; first, the souls of men, then angels, and then
God. Now, these degrees of spirits are, as it were, a rail and fence
about the sense we have of the being and majesty of God. And
such as deny the immortality of the soul, strike at a distance at the
eternity and existence of the Deity.
Another opinion is, that men of all religions shall be saved ;- so
that it is no matter what religion a man be of, if he walk according
to the principles of it, and be of a sober moral life. In these latter
times some are grown weary of the Christian religion, and by an
excess of charity betray their faith, and plead for the salvation of
heathens, Turks, and infidels. But ye should remember, that, as
there is but one God, and one heavenly Jerusalem, so there is but
one faith, and one way by which men can come to the enjoyment of
God there. Such libertine principles have a manifest tendency to
shake people loose of all religion. To make many doors to heaven,
as one says, is to widen the gates of hell.
Another opinion tending to atheism is, the denying of God's pro-
vidence in the government of the world. Some make him an idle
spectator of what is done here below, asserting that he is contented
with his own blessedness and glory, and that whatever is without
him is neither in his thoughts nor care. Many think that this world
is but as a great clock or machine, which was set a-going at first by
God, and afterwards left to its own motion. But if ye exempt any
thing from the dominion of providence, then you will soon run into
all manner of libertinism. If Satan and wicked men may do what
they will, and God be only a looker-on, and not concerned with hu-
man affairs, then ye may worship the devil, lest he hurt you, and
fear men though God be propitious to you.
OP THE UNITY OF GOD. 141
2. Beware of indulging sin. When yc take a liberty to sin, and
gratify your vile and sordid lusts, you will hate the law that for-
bids it ; and this will lead you to a hatred of the Lawgiver ; and
hatred of God strikes against his very being. "When once you
allow yourselves an indulgence to sin, you will be apt to think, 0
that there were no God to punish me for my crimes ! and would
gladly persuade yourselves that there is none ; and will think it
your only game to do what ye can to root out the notions of God in
your own minds, for your own quiet, that so ye may wallow in sin
without remorse.
3. Prize and study the holy scriptures, for they shew clearly that
there is a God. There are more clear marks and characters of a
Deity stamped upon the holy scriptures than upon all the works of
nature. Therefore converse much with them. By this means was
Junius converted from atheism. His father perceiving him to be so
atheistical, caused lay a Bible in every room, so that in whatsoever
room he entered, a Bible haunted him ; and he fancied it upbraided
him thus : ' Wilt thou not read me, atheist ? wilt thou not read
me ?' Whereupon he read it, and was thereby converted. I say
then, study the holy scriptures, and in doing so, learn to submit
your reason to divine revelation. For some men, neglecting the
scriptures, and going forth in the pride of their own understandings,
have at last disputed themselves into flat atheism.
4. Study God in the creatures as well as in the scriptures. The
creatures were all made to be heralds of the divine glory, and his
glorious being and perfections appear evidently in them. Hence
saith the Psalmist, Psal. xix. 1 — 4. ' The heavens declare the glory
of God ? and the firmament sheweth his handy-work, day unto day
uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is
no speech, nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line
is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the
world : in them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun.' The world is
sometimes compared to a book, and sometimes to a preacher. The
universe is like a great printed book, wherein God sets forth him-
self to our view ; and the great diversity of creatures which are in
it, are so many letters, out of which we may spell his name. And
they all preach loudly unto us the glorious being and excellencies
of God. And therefore the apostle tells us, Rom. i. 20. ' The in-
visible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly
seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eter-
nal power and Godhead ; so that they are without excuse.' In the
book of the creatures God hath written a part of the excellency of
his name ; and you should learn to read God wherever ho hath
made himself legible to you.
142 OF THE HOLY TRINITY.
5. Lastly, Yo who are yet sinners, lying in your natural state of
sin and misery, come unto God in Christ, and receive him as your
God by faith, and so ye will be preserved from atheism. And ye
who are believers in Christ, be often viewing God in your own ex-
periences of him. Have you not often found God in the strengthen-
ing, reviving, and refreshing influences of his grace upon your
souls ? Have ye not had sweet manifestations of his love ? Have
you not had frequent refreshing tastes of his goodness, in pardoning
your iniquities, hearing and answering your prayers, supplying your
wants, and feasting your souls ? The reviewing of such experiences
will be a mighty preservative against atheism. Can you doubt of
his being, when you have been so often revived, refreshed, and sup-
ported by him ? The secret touches of God upon your hearts, and
your inward converses with him, are to you a clearer evidence of
the being of God, than all the works of nature.
OF THE HOLY TRINITY.
1 John v. 7. — For there are three that bear record in heaven : the Fa-
ther, the Wor-d, and the Holy Ghost ; and these three are one.
In the 5th verse of this chapter, John lays down a fundamental
article of the Christian faith. That Jesus is the Sou of God ; and
brings in the witnesses of this truth, ver. 7- and 8. The text con-
descends on the divine heavenly witnesses. Where, consider,
1. Their number, three, viz. three persons.
2. Tlieir names, the Father, the Word, that is, the Son, so called,
because he reveals the Father's mind, and the Holy Ghost. And
here is noted the order of their subsisting also.
3. The majesty and glory of these witnesses ; they are in heaven,
manifesting their glory there, and from it have borne record ; which
should make the inhabitants of the world to believe their testimony.
4. Their act : They hear record to this truth.
5. Their unity : They are one, one God ; not only one in consent
and agreement, but one thing, one substance, one essence.
The doctrine evidently arising from the words is,
DocT. ' There are three persons in the Godhead ; the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost : and these three are one God, the same in
substance, equal in power and glory.'
In discoursing from this doctrine, I shall,
I. Explain the terms mentioned in the doctrine, the Godhead, and
a 'person.
OF THE HOLY TKINITY. 143
II. Shew that there are three persons in the Grodhead.
III. Prove that these three are distinct persons.
IV. Demonstrate that these three persons are one God, the same
in substance, equal in power and glory.
V. Evince the weight and importance of this article of the Chris-
tian faith.
VI. Lastly, Deduce a few inferences.
I. I am to explain the terms mentioned in the doctrine, the God-
head, and a person.
1. By ilie Godhead is meant the nature or essence of God, Acts
xvii. 29, even as by manhood is understood the nature of man. Now
the Godhead is but one, there being but one God.
2. A divine person, or a person in the Godhead, is the Godhead
distinguished by personal properties, Heb. i. 3, where Christ the
Son of God is called ' the brightness of his glory, and the express
image of his person.' For consider the Godhead as the fountain or
principle of the Deity, so it is the first person ; consider it as be-
gotten of the Father, it is the second ; and as proceeding from the
Father and the Son, it is the third person.
II. Our next business is to shew that there are three persons in
the Godhead. This is confirmed by the scriptures both of the Old
and New Testament.
1. The Old Testament plainly holds forth a plurality of persons
in the Godhead, Gen. i. 26. ' God said, let us make man in our own
image, after our likeness.' Chap. iii. 22. ' And the Lord God said,
Behold the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil.'
This cannot be understood of angels : for man is said to be created
after the image of God, but never after the image of angels ; and
the temptation was, * Ye shall be as gods,' not as angels. Nor
must it be conceived, that God speaks so after the manner of kings ;
for that way of speaking is used rather to note modesty than roy-
alty. But when God speaks so as to discover most of his royalty,
he speaks in the singular number, as in the giving of the law, * I am
the Lord thy God.' This trinity of persons is also not obscurely
mentioned in Psal. xxxiii. 6. ' By the Word of the Lord, or Je-
hovah, were the heavens made ; and all the host of them, by the
breath, or Spirit, of his mouth.' Here is mention made of Jehovah
the Word and the Spirit, as jointly acting in the work of creation.
Accordingly we find, that 'all things were made by the "Word,'
John i. 3. and that * the Spirit garnished the heavens,' Job xxvi.
13. Nay, a Trinity of persons is mentioned, Isa. Ixiii. where, be-
besides that the Lord, or Jehovah, is three times spoken of, ver. 7.
we read, of ' the angel of his presence,' which denotes two persons,
144 OF THE HOLY TRINITY.
and ' his Spirit,' ver. 9, 10. So tliat it evidently appears, that the
doctrine of the Trinity was revealed under the Old Testament.
2. The New Testament most plainly teaches this doctrine.
(1.) I begin with the text, where it is expressly asserted, There
are three that hear record, &c. Here are three witnesses, and there-
fore three persons. Not three names of one person : for if a person
have ever so many names, he is still but one witness. Not three
Gods, but one.
(2.) In the baptism of Christ, Matth. iii. 16, 17. mention is made
of the Father speaking in an audible voice, the Son in the human
nature baptized by John, and the Holy Ghost appearing in the
shape of a dove ; plainly importing three divine persons.
(3.) This appears from our baptism, Matth, xxviii. 8, 19. * Go ye
and teach all nations baptising them in the name of the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost.' Observe the words, in the name, not
names ; which denotes, that these three are one God : and yet they
are distinctly reckoned three in number, and so are three distinct
persons.
(4.) It appears from the apostolical benediction, where all bless-
ings are sought from the three persons distinctly mentioned, 2 Cor.
xiii. 14. ' The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.'
III. That these three are distinct persons, (for though they can-
not be divided, yet they are distinguished), is evident. For the Son
is distinct from the Father ' being the express image of his person,'
Heb. i. 2. ; and in John viii. 17, 18. he reckons his Father one wit-
ness and himself another. And that the Holy Ghost is distinct
from both, appears from John xiv. 16, 17. ' I will pray the Father,
and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with
you for ever : even the Spirit of truth.' And the text is plain for
the distinction of all the three. Now, they are distinguished by
their order of subsisting, and their incommunicable personal pro-
perties. In respect of the order of subsistence, the Father is the
first person, as the fountain of the Deity, having the foundation of
personal subsistence in himself; the Son is the second person, and
hath the foundation of personal subsistence from the Father; and
the Holy Ghost is the third person, as having the foundation of per-
sonal subsistence from the Father and the Son. And so for their
personal properties,
1. It is the personal property of the Father to beget the Son,
Heb. i. 5, 6, 8. ' Unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou
art my Son, this day have I begotten thee ? And again, I will be
to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Sou, And again, when ho
OF THE HOLY TRINITY. 145
bringeth in the first begotten into the world he saith, And let all
the angels of God worship him. — But unto the Son he saith, Thy
throne, 0 Grod, is for ever and ever ; a sceptre of righteousness is
the sceptre of thy kingdom.' This cannot be ascribed either to the
Son or Holy Ghost.
2. It is the property of the Son to be begotten of the Father,
John i. 14. 18. ' We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only be-
gotten of the Father. No man hath seen God at any time : the
only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath de-
clared him.'
3. The property of the Holy Ghost is to, proceed from the Father
and the Son, John xv. 26. ' When the Comforter is come, whom I
will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which
proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.' In Gal. iv. 6. he
is called *the Spirit of the Son;' and in Rom. viii. 9. ' the Spirit of
Christ.' He is said to ' receive all things from Christ,' John xvi.
14, 15. ; to be ' sent by him,' John xv. 26. : and to be ' sent by the
Father in Christ's name,' John xiv. 26. All this plainly implies,
that the Holy Spirit proceedeth both from the Father and the Son.
This generation of the Son and Holy Ghost was from all eternity.
For as God is from everlasting to everlasting, so must this genera-
tion and procession be : and to deny it, would be to deny the su-
preme and eternal Godhead of all the three glorious persons.
IV. I proceed to shew, that these three persons are one God, the
same in substance, equal in power and glory. To this end consider,
1. How express the text is, Tliese three are one. When the
apostle speaks of the unity of the earthly witnesses, ver. 8. he says,
they ' agree in one,' acting in unity of consent or agreement only.
But the heavenly witnesses are one, viz, in nature or essence. They
are not only of a like nature or substance, but one and the same
substance ; and if so, they are and must be equal in all essential
perfections, as power and glory.
2. There is but one true God, as was before proved, and there
can be but one true God. Now, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
are each of them the true God ; and therefore they are one God, the
same in substance, equal in power and glory. And this I shall
prove by scripture testimony.
First, That the Father is true God, none that acknowledge a God
do deny. Divine worship and attributes are ascribed to him. But,
Secondly, That the Son is true God, appears if yc consider,
1. The scriptures expressly calls him God, Rom. ix, 5. John i.
1. Acts XX. 28. ; ' the true God' 1 John v. 20. ; ' the great God,'
Tit. ii. 13. ; the ' mighty God, Isa. ix. 6. ' Jehovah or Lord,' Mai.
146 OF THE HOLY TRINITY.
iii. 1. which is a namo proper to the true God only, Psal. Ixxxiii. ult.
2. The attributes of God, which are one and the same with God
himself, are ascribed to him ; as eternity, Micah v. 2. ' Whose go-
ings forth have been from of old, from everlasting ; independence
and omnipotence, Rev. i. 8. — ' The Almighty ;' omnipresence, John
iii. 13. where he is said to be ' in heaven,' when bodily on earth ;
and Matth. xxviii. 20. ' Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the
end of the world :' omniscience, John xxi. 17. ' Lord thou knowest
all things,' says Peter to him ; and unchangeableness, Heb. i. 11, 12-
' They shall i)erish, but thou remainest : and they all shall wax old
as doth a garment ; and^as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and
they shall be changed : but thou art the same, and thy years shall
not fail.'
3. The works proper and peculiar to God are ascribed to him ;
as creation, John i. 3. ' All things were made by him ; and with-
out him was not any thing made that was made.' Conservation of
all things, Heb. i. 3. — ' upholding all things by the word of his
power.' Raising the dead by his own power, and at his own plea-
sure, John V. 21, 26. ' The Son quickeneth whom he will.' The
Father ' hath given to the Son to have life in himself.' The saving
of sinners, Hos. i. 7- — ' I will save them by the Lord their God.'
Compare chap. xiii. 4. ' in me is thine help.' Yea, whatsoever the
Father doth, the Son doth likewise.
4. Divine worship is due to him, and therefore he is true God,
Matth. iv. 10. The angels are commanded to ' worship him,' Heb. i.
8. All must give the same honour to him as to the Father, John
V. 23. We must have faith in him, and they are blessed that be-
lieve in him, Psal. ii. 12. compare Jer. xvii. 5. We are to pray to
him, Acts vii. 58. ; and we are baptised in his name, Matth. xxviii.
19. Nay, he is expressly said to be ' equal with the Father,' Phil,
ii. 6. and * one with him.' John x. 30. Now, seeing God will ' not
give his glory to another,' Isa. xlviii. 11. because he is true and
cannot lie, and he is just, it follows, that though Christ be a distinct
person, yet he is not a distinct God from his Father, but one God
with him, the same in substance equal in power and glory. And it
is no contradiction to this doctrine when Christ says, ' My Father is
greater than I,' John xiv. 28. ; for he is not speaking there of his
nature as God, but of his mediatory office ; and hence he is called
the Father's ' servant,' Is. xlii. 1.
Thirdly, That the Holy Ghost is true God, or a divine person,
apjjears, if ye consider,
1. The scripture expressly calls him God, Acts v. 3, 4. 1 Cor. iii.
16. Isa. vi. 9. compared with Acts xxviii. 25, 26. 2 Sam. xxiii. 2,
OF THE HOLY TItlJflTY. 147
3. He is called ' Jehovali, or the Lord,' Num. xii. 6. compare 2
Pet. i. 21.
2. Divine attributes are ascribed to him ; as omnipotence, he
' worketh all iu all,' 1 Cor. xii. 6, 9, 10, 11. ; omnipresence, Psal.
cxxxix. 7. ; and omniscience, 1 Cor. ii. 10.
3. "Works peculiar to God are ascribed to him ; as creation, Psal.
xxxiii. 6 ; conservation, Psal. civ. 30. ; working miracles. Matt. xii.
28.; raising the dead, Rom. viii. 11.; inspiring the prophets, 2 Tim.
iii. 16. compare 2 Pet. i. 21.
4. Divine worship is due to him. We are baptised in his name,
Matth. xxviii. 19. ; we are to pray to him, 2 Cor. xiii. 14. Acts iv.
23, 25. compare 2 Sam. xxiii. 2, 3.
Hence it appears,
1. That the Godhead is not divided, but that each of the three
persons hath the one whole Godhead, or divine nature.
2. That it is sinful to imagine any inequality amongst the three
divine persons, or to think one of them more honourable than ano-
ther, seeing they are all one God.
Y. I proceed to consider the weight and importance of this
article. It is a fundamental article, the belief whereof is necessary
to salvation. For those that are * without God,' Eph. ii. 12. and
' have not the Father,' cannot be saved ; but ' whoso denieth the
Son, the same hath not the Father,' 1 John ii. 23. Those that are
none of Christ's cannot be saved ; but ' he that hath not the Spirit,
is none of his,' Rom. viii. 9. None receive the Spirit but those that
know him. John xiv. 17. This mystery of the Trinity is so inter-
woven with the whole of religion, that their can neither be any true
faith, right worship, or obedience without it. For take away this
doctrine, and the object of faith, worship, and obedience is changed ;
seeing the object of these declared in the scripture, is the three per-
sons in the Godhead ; and the scriptures know no other God.
Where is faith, if this bo taken away ? John xvii. 3. ' This is
life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Je-
sus Christ whom thou hast sent.' Here it is to be observed, that
our Lord does not call the Father only the true God, exclusive of
the other persons of the Trinity ; but that he (including the other
persons who all subsist in the same one undivided essence) is the
only true God, in opposition to idols, falsely called gods. 1 John ii.
23. ' Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father.'
There is no more true worship or fellowship with God in it : ' For
through him we botli have access by one Spirit unto the Father,'
Eph. ii. 18. And there is no more obedience without it, John xv.
23. ' lie that hatcth me,' says Christ, * hateth my Father also.'
148 OP TUB UOLY TRINITY.
John V. 23, ' He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Fa-
ther which hath sent him.' "We are debtors to the Spirit, to live
after the Spirit, and are bonnd by baptism to the obedience of the
Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
I shall conclude with a few inferences.
1. How much ought we to prize divine revelation, wherein we
have a discovery of this incomprehensible mystery ! This is a truth
which nature's light could never have found out. It is above reason,
though not contrary to it ; for reason, though it could never have
brought it to light, yet when it is discovered, it must needs yield to
it; for as the judgment of sense must be corrected by reason, so the
judgment of reason by faith.
2. See here that God whom you are to take for your God, to love,
trust in, worship and obey, even the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
This is that God who offers himself to you in the gospel, and whom
you are to take for your God in Christ. This is that Father who
elected a select company of sinners unto salvation ; this is that Son
that redeemed them unto God by his blood ; and this is that Spirit
that renews and sanctifies them, making them meet for the inhe-
ritance of the saints in light.
3. Lastly, Take this Father for your Father, who is the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and be obedient children, if ye would be
reckoned of his seed. Receive the Son, and slight him not. Give
your consent to the gospel-offer, seeing it is your ^Maker that offers
to be your husband. And grieve not the Holy Spirit, lest ye be
found fighters against God.
OP THE DECREES OP GOD. 149
OF THE DECREES OF GOD.
Ephes. i. 11. — According to the purpose of him luho worketh all things
after the counsel of his own tuill.
The apostle here gives an instance of the sovereign freedom of di-
vine grace through Jesus Christ in the believing Jews.
1. There is here the high privilege they were advanced to, a right
to the heavenly inheritance, which had been forfeited by the sin of
man.
2. Through whom they had obtained it, in him ; by virtue of the
merits, the obedience and satisfaction of Christ.
3. Why they obtained it, while others had not. Not that they
were more worthy than others, but because they were predestinated,
elected, or fore-ordained to salvation, and all the means of it.
4. There is the certainty of the efficacy of predestination. It is
according to his imrfose ; that is, his firm purpose and peremptory
decree to bring such things to pass. And this certainly in par-
ticular is evinced by a general truth, JMio worketh all things accord-
ing to the counsel of his own ivill. Wherein we may notice.
(1.) God's eifectual operation, Ac twrtoA. The word signifies to
work powerfully and efficaciously, so as to overcome all contrary
resistance, and all difficulties in the way ; which is exactly God's
way of working. And this working takes place in the works of
creation and providence.
(2.) The manner how God works. The plan and scheme accord-
ing to which his works are framed, is the counsel of his will. His
will is his decree and intention ; and it is called the counsel of his
wiU, to denote the wisdom of his decrees, his most wise and free
determination therein. As God's decree is an act of his will, and
so most free, considered in relation to the creatures ; so his decree
and will are never without counsel ; he willeth or decreeth things to
be done with the greatest reason and judgment, most wisely as well
as freely.
(3.) The object of his working after this manner, all things. This
cannot be restricted to the blessings which the apostle had been
speaking of immediately before, but must be understood of all
things whatsoever, and of all their motions and actions as such ;
which therefore are the object of God's decrees.
The text plainly affords this doctrine, viz.
DocT. ' God hath fore-ordained, according to the counsel of his own
will, whatsoever comes to pass.'
150 OP THE DECREES OF OOD.
Here I shall,
I. Explain the nature of a decree.
II. Consider the object of God's decrees.
III. Speak of the end of his decrees.
IV. Touch at their properties.
V. Make improvement.
I. I am to explain the nature of a decree. The text calls it a.
■purpose, a will. For God to decree is to purpose and fore-ordain, to
will and appoint that a thing shall be or not be. And such decrees
must needs be granted, seeing God is absolutely perfect, and there-
fore nothing can come to pass mthout his will ; seeing there is an
absolute and necessary dependence of all things and persons on God
as the first cause. But there is a vast diiference betwixt the de-
crees of God and men ; whereof this is the principal : Men's pur-
poses or decrees are distinct from themselves, but the decrees of
God are not distinct from himself. God's decrees are nothing else
but God himself, who is one simple act ; and they are many only in
respect of their objects, not as they are in God ; even as the one
heat of the sun melts wax and hardens clay. To say otherwise is
to derogate from the absolute simplicity of God, and to make him a
compound being. It is also to derogate from his infinite perfection ;
for whatsoever is added to any thing argues a want, which is made
up by the accession of that thing, and so introduces a change ; but
God is absolutely unchangeable. Neither could God's decrees be
eternal, if it were not so ; for there is nothing eternal but God.
II. I proceed to consider the object of God's decrees. This is
whatsoever comes to pass. He worketh all things, says the text.
God has decreed whatsoever comes to pass ; and nothing comes to
pass but what he has decreed to come to pass. "We may consider
the extent of the divine decree under the three following heads.
1. God has decreed the creation of all things that have a being.
2. He has decreed to rule and govern the creatures which he
was to make.
3. He has decreed the eternal state of all his rational creatures.
First, God decreed to rear up this stately fabric of the world, the
heavens and the earth, the sea and the land, with all the great va-
riety of creatures which inhabit them. There are myriads of holy
angels in heaven, cherubim and seraphim, thrones and dominions,
principalities and powers, angels and archangels. There are many
shining luminaries in the firmament, the sun, and the moon, and
innumerable glittering stars. There is a great variety of creatures
on the earth, animals, plants, trees, and minerals, with various
forms, shapes, colours, smells, virtues, and qualities. The sea is
OF THE DECREES OF GOD. . 151
inhabited by many creatures, Psal. civ. 25. Now, God decreed to
make all these things. Rev. iv. 11. ' Thou hast created all things.'
Secondly, God hath decreed tlie government of all his creatures.
He preserves and upholds them in their beings, and he guides and
governs them in all their motions and actions. He is not only the
general spring and origin of all the motions and actions of the crea-
tures, but he appoints and orders them all immediately.
1. lie has decreed all their motions and actions: 'For (says the
apostle) of him, and through hira, and to him, are all things.' Rom.
xi. ult. This is clear from God's knowing all these things before
they come to pass ; which knowledge of them must needs be in the
decree, upon which the coming to pass of all things depends.
Not only good things, but evil things fall within the compass of
his holy decree. Evils of punishment are truly good, being the
execution of justice, as it is good in a magistrate to punish evil-
doers. God owns himself to be the author of these evils, Amos iii.
6. 'Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?'
And yet he has decreed the effecting of these. As for the evils of
sin, these also fall within the compass of the decree of God, as is
clear in the case of crucifying Christ, Acts ii. 23. ' Him (says the
apostle to the Jews) being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have
crucified and slain.' And says the apostle, Acts iv. 27. 28. ' For of
a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both
Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of
Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and
thy counsel determined before to be done.' This appears also in
the case of Pharaoh refusing to let Israel go, and pursuing them
when they had gone, whose heart God hardened, Exod. xiv. 4 ; and
in the sin of Joseph's brethren in selling him into Egypt ; of which
Joseph says, Gen. xlv. 8. ' So now it was not you that sent me
hither, but God.' It is true, God decreed not the effecting of sin,
for then he should have been the author of it, but he decreed the
permission of sin. And though sin in itself is evil, yet God's per-
mitting it is good, seeing he can bring good out of it ; and it is
just in him to permit it, where he is not bound to hinder it. Yet
this is not a naked permission, whereby the thing may either come
to pass or not, but such as infers a certainty of the event, so that
in respect of the event the sin cannot but come to pass. Hence our
Lord says, Matth. xviii. 7- ' Wo unto the world because of offences ;
for it must needs be that offences come.' And says the apostle, 1
Cor. xi. 19. ' There must be heresies among you.' See also Acts iv,
27, 28. forecited.
152 ^ OP THE DECREES OF GOD.
2. And not only necessary things, as the burning of the fire, but
the most free acts of the creature, and the most casual things, fall
under the divine decree. Free acts, as Prov. xx. 1. 'The king's
heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water : he turneth
it whithersoever he will.' To this purpose are the foresaid in-
stances of the Jews, Pharoah, and Joseph's brethren. — The most
casual, as in the case of the casual slaughter mentioned, Exod. xxi,
12, 13, and Deut. xix. 3. where mention is made of the Lord's de-
livering the person slain into the hands of the slayer, though he
had no intention to slay him. Such also is the case of lots, Prov.
xvi. 33. ' The lot is cast into the lap ; but the whole disposing
thereof is of the Lord.' This holds also in the case of sparrows,
and the hairs of the head falling, which cannot be done without
God, Matth. x. 29, 30. And thus not only great things, but small
things fall within the compass of the divine decree.
But more especially let us consider God's decrees with respect to
the government of rational creatures. This we may take up in the
following particulars.
1. God has decreed what kingdoms and monarchies should be on
the earth, what princes and potentates should rule and govern
them, and whether their government should be mild or tyrannical ;
how long each kingdom should continue, when they should have
peace and when war, when prosperity and adversity. We find
wonderful discoveries made to Daniel with respect to these things.
2. God has decreed every thing relating to the lot and condition
of particular persons.
(1.) He has decreed the time and place of their birth, whether it
should be under the law or gospel, in a land of light or darkness ;
whether among the savage Indians in America, or among the more
polite and civilized people of Europe ; whether among Mahometans,
Papists, or Protestants. All this was decreed by the Lord, who
* hath made of one blood all nations of men, to dwell on all the face
of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and
the bounds of their habitation,' Acts xvii. 26.
(2.) He hath decreed every man's lot and condition, whether it
shall be high or low, rich or poor, noble or ignoble, learned or un-
learned. He hath determined the trade and employment they
should follow, the particular business they should betake themselves
to. Many times God's providence over-rules men's purposes and
designs, for fulfilling his own counsels. Matters are sometimes
strangely wheeled about, so that not what we or our parents de-
signed, but what God hath purposed shall take place. Amos was
meanly employed at first, but God designed him for a more honour-
OF THE DECREES OF GOD. 153
able calling : he was taken from the olfice of a herdnian, and
gatherer of sycamore fruit, and invested with a commission to pro-
phesy to the people of Israel, Amos vii. 1-i, 15. David followed
the ewes, and it is like never raised his thoughts to higher things in
the days of Ids youth; hut God made him the royal shepherd of a
better flock, Psal. Ixxviii. 70, 71. The most part of the apostles were
fishermen ; but Christ called tliem to a more high and eminent station,
even to be extraordinary officers in his church, and fishers of men.
(3.) God hath decreed what relations men shall have in the world.
Their wives and children are appointed for them. Hence said
Abraham's servant, Gen. xxiv. 44. * Let the same be the woman
whom the Lord hath appointed for my master's son.' That such a
woman rather than any other, should be wife to such a man, is by
the appointment of Heaven. Men's children are also decreed by
God. Hence said Eve, Gen. iv. 24. ' God hath appointed me ano-
ther seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.' And says the Psal-
mist, Psal. cxxvii. 3. ' Lo children are the heritage of the Lord.'
God determines the numbers and names of every man's children.
(4.) All the comforts of men's lives are under the divine appoint-
ment, both those temporal and spiritual. Hence says the prophet,
Isa. xxvi. 1. • We have a strong city : salvation will God appoint
for walls and bulwarks.'
5. All men's afflictions are determined by a decree of Heaven,
Micah vi. 9. ' Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.' Such
are public calamities and distresses, as war, famine and pestilence,
all bodily pains and sickness, poverties and pinching straits, and
whatever is grievous and afflictive to men. None of these spring
out of the dust, or come by chance. The kind and nature of
people's troubles, their measure and degree, time and season, conti-
nuance and duration, and all the circumstances of them, are deter-
mined, and weighed in the scale of his eternal counsel. Hence says
the apostle, 1 Thess. iii. 3. ' Xo man should be moved by these afflic-
tions : for you yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.'
(6.) The time of every man's life in the world is appointed.
Hence says Job, chap. vii. 1. 'Is there not an appointed time to
man upon earth ? are not his days also like the days of an hireling ?'
And says the same great man, chap. xiv. 5. ' His days are deter-
mined : and the number of his months are with thee, thou hast ap-
pointed his bounds that he cannot pass.' The term of our life is
fixed and limited, our days are determined, and our months num-
bered. Hence David prays, Psal. xxxix. 4. ' Lord, make me to
know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is : that I
may know how frail I am.' Our days are measured ; they are as
L
154 OF THE DECREES OF GOD.
the days of an liireling. As the hireling hath a set time to work
in, SO every man and woman hath an appointed time for acting and
working in this world. We are all pilgrims and strangers on the
earth, and in a little time we must go hence and be no more. "We
are here like men upon a stage to act our parts, and in a short time
we must retire within the curtain of death, and others will come in
our room. Our glass is continually running, and the day and hour
in which it will run out is settled and fixed by the order of Heaven.
We find in scripture that God hath often foretold the precise term
of particular men's lives. He set a hundred and twenty years to
those who lived in the old world before the flood came upon them,
Gren. vi, 3. He foretold the time of Moses' life, of that of Jero-
boam's son, of that of Ahaziah king of Israel, and of many others.
All this was from his own decree and counsel.
Thirdly, God hath determined the etei'nal state of all his rational
creatures, both men and angels. Our Confession of Faith tells us,
agreeably to scripture, chap. iii. art. 3. that ' by the decree of God,
for the manifestation of his glory some men and angels are predes-
tinated unto everlasting life, and others are fore-ordained to ever-
lasting death.' More particularly,
1. We read of the elect angels, 1 Tim. v. 21. The perseverance
and standing of the holy angels in the state of their primitive inte-
grity, and their confirmation therein, was determined by the purpose
of God, In the morning of the creation heaven shined with innum-
erable glittering stars, the angels of light, of whom a vast number
are, by their rebellion against God, become wandering stars, to
whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. Now, the
good angels are in a supernatural state, without the least danger of
change, or any separation from the blessed presence of God in
glory, flowing from the continual irradiations of divine grace, which
preserves their minds from errors, and their wills from irregular
desires ; and consequently they cannot sin, nor forfeit their felicity.
It was by an eternal decree of God, that he passed by the angels
that fell, and doomed them to everlasting misery. The apostle tells
us, 2 Pet. ii. 4. that ' God spared not the angels that sinned, but
cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness,
to be reserved into judgment.' And saith Jude, ver. 6. ' The an-
gels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation,
he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the
judgment of the great day.' Mercy did not interpose to avert or
suspend their judgment ; but immediately they were expelled from
the Divine Presence. Their present misery is insupportable, and
worse awaits them. Their judgment .is irreversible ; they are
OF TUB BECRKES OF GOD. 155
under the blackness of darkness for ever. They haA^e not the least
glimpse of hope to allay their sorrows, and no star-light to sweeten
the horrors of their eternal night. It were a kind of mercy to them
to be capable of death ; but God will never be so far reconciled to
them as to annihilate them. Immortality, which is the privilege of
their nature, infinitely increases their torment.
2. God hath likewise appointed the final and eternal state of men
and women. It is said, Rom. ix. 21, 22, 23. ' Hath not the potter
power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto
honour, and another unto dishonour ? What if God, willing to show
his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much loug-
sufl*ering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction : and that he
might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy,
which he had afore prepared unto glory ?'
(1.) He hath elected some to everlasting life by an irreversible
decree, Rom. viii. 29, 30. ' For whom he did foreknow, he also did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might
be the first-born among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did
predestinate, them he also called : and whom he called, them he
also justified : and whom he justified, them he also glorified.' Eph.
i. 4. ' According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in
love.' 2 Thess. ii. 13. ' God hath from the beginning chosen you to
salvation.' From eternity God elected some from among the lost pos-
terity of Adam to everlasting life and glory, according to the good
pleasure of his own will. Therefore all is refeTred by our Saviour to
the good pleasure of God, Matth. xi. 25, 26. And all the means for
accomplishing the ends of election are'likewise of divine appoint-
ment ; particularly the redemption of ruined sinners by the death
and sufferings of Christ : ' He hath chosen us in Christ,' Eph. i. 4.
The Father did first, in the order of nature, chuse Christ to the Me-
diatory office, and as the chief corner-stone to bear up the whole
building; whence he is called God's elect, Isa. xlii. 1. And then he
chose a company of lost sinners to be saved by and through Christ ;
and therefore he is said to predestinate them to be conformed to the
image of his Son.
2. God hath passed by the rest of mankind, according to the un-
searchable counsel of his own will, whereby he extendeth or with-
holdetli mercy as he pleaseth, for the glory of his sovereign power
over his creatures, and liath ordained them to dishonour and wratli
for their sins, to the praise of his glorious justice. Hence Christ is
said to be ' a stone of stumbling, and a rock of ofi^ence to them that
stumble at the word being disobedient : whereunto also they were
l2
156 or THE DECKEES OF GOD.
appointed,' 1 Pet. ii. 8. ' The foundation of God standetli sure,
having tliis seal, The Lord knowctli them that are his. And, Let
every one that uanieth tlie name of Christ depart from iniquity.
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold, and of silver,
but also of wood, and of earth ; and some to honour, and some to
dishonour,' 2 Tim. ii. 19, 20. In Jude, ver. 4. we read of ' ungodly
men, who were before of old ordained to condemnation.' And in
Rom. ix. 22, 23. we read of ' vessels of mercy, which God had afore
prepared unto glory : and of vessels of wrath fitted for destruction.'
III. I come to consider the end of God's decrees. And this is no
other than his own glory. Every rational agent acts for an end ;
and God being the most perfect agent, and his glory the highest
end, there can be no doubt but all his decrees are directed to that
end. ' For — to him are all things,' Rom. xi. 36. ' That we should
be to the praise of his glory,' Eph. i. 12. In all, he aims at his
glory : and seeing he aims at it, he gets it even from the most sin-
ful actions he has decreed to permit. Either the glory of his mercy
or of his justice he draws therefrom. Infinite wisdom directs all to
the end intended. More particularly,
1. This was God's end in the creation of the world. The divine
perfections are admirably glorified here, not only in regard of the
greatness of the effect, which comprehends the heavens and the
earth, and all things therein ; but in regard of the marvellous way
of its production. For he made the vast universe without the con-
currence of any material cause ; he brought it forth from the womb
of nothing by an act of his efficacious will. And as he began the
creation by proceeding from nothing to real existence, so in forming
the other parts he drew theifi from infirm and indisposed matter, as
from a second nothing, that all his creatures might bear the signa-
tures of infinite power. Thus lie commanded light to arise out of
darkness, and sensible creatures from an insensible element. The
lustre of the divine glory appears eminently here. Hence says
David, Psal. xix. 1. ' The heavens declare the glory of God.' They
declare and manifest to the world the attributes and perfections of
their great Creator, even in his infinite wisdom, goodness, and
power. All the creatures have some j)rints of God stamped upon
them, whereby they loudly proclaim and shew to the world his
wisdom and goodness in framing them. Hence says Paul, Rom. i.
20. ' The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his
eternal power and Godhead.'
2. The glory of God was his chief end and design in making men
and angels. The rest of the creatures glorified God in an objective
OF THE DECREES OP GOD. 157
way, as they are evidences and manifestations of his infinite wis-
dom, goodness, and poAver. But this higher rank of beings ai'e en-
dued with rational faculties, and so are capable to glorify God
actively. Hence it is said, Prov. xvi. 4. ' The Lord hath made all
things for himself.' If all things were made for him, then man and
angels especially, who are the master-pieces of the whole creation.
We have our rise and being from the pure fountain of God's infinite
power and goodness ; and therefore we ought to run towards that
again, till we empty all our faculties and excellencies into that
same ocean of divine goodness.
3. This is likewise the end of election and predestination. For
' he hath predestinated us unto the adoption of children, to the
praise of the glory of his grace.' That some are ordained to eternal
life, and others passed by, and suffered to perish eternally in their
sin, is for the manifestation of the infinite perfections and excellen-
cies of God. The glory and beauty of the divine attributes is dis-
played here with a shining lustre ; as his sovereign authority and
dominion over all his creatures to dispose of them to what ends and
purposes he pleaseth ; his knowledge and omniscience, in beholding
all things past, present, and to come ; his vindictive justice, in or-
daining punishments to men, as a just retribution for sin ; and his
omnipotence, in making good his word, and putting all his threat-
eniugs in execution. The glory of his goodness shines likewise
here, in making choice of any, when all most justly deserved to be
rejected. And his mercy shines here with an amiable lustre, in re-
ceiving and admitting all who believe in Jesus into his favour.
4. This was the end that God proposed in that great and aston-
ishing work of redemption. In our redemption by Christ we have
the fullest, clearest, and most delightful manifestation of the glory
of God that ever was or shall be in this life. All the declarations
and manifestations that we have of his glory in the works of crea-
tion and common providence, are but dim and obscure in com-
parison witli what is here. Indeed the glory of his wisdom, power,
and goodness, is clearly manifested in the works of creation. But
tlie glory of his mercy and love had lain under an eternal eclipse
without a Redeemer. God had in several ages of the world pitched
upon particular seasons to manifest and discover one or other par-
ticular property of his nature. Thus his justice was declared in his
drowning the old world with a deluge of water, and burning Sodom
with fire from heaven. Ilis truth and power were clearly mani-
fested in freeing the Israelites from the Egyptian chains, and
bringing them out from that miserable bondage. His truth was
there illustriously displayed in performing a promise which had lain
l3
158 OP THE DECREES OF GOB.
dormant for the space of 430 years, and his power in quelling his
implacable enemies by the meanest of his creatures. Again, the
glory of one attribute is more seen in one work than in another :
in some things there is more of his goodness, in other things more of
his wisdom is seen, and in others more of his power. But in the
work of redemption all liis perfections and excellencies shine forth
in their greatest glory. And this is the end that God proposed in
their conyersion and regeneration. Hence it is said, Tsa. xliii. 21.
' This people have I formed for myself, they shall shew forth my
praise.' Sinners are adopted into God's family, and made a royal
priesthood on this very design,' 1 Pet. ii. 9.
IV. I come now to consider the properties of God's decrees.
1. They are eternal. God makes no decrees in time, but they
were all from eternity. So the decree of election is said to have
been ' before the foundation of the world,' Eph. i. 4. Yea whatever
he doth in time, was decreed by him, seeing it was known to him
before time. Acts xv. 18. ' Known unto God are all his works from
the beginning.' And this foreknowledge is founded on the decree.
If the divine decrees were not eternal, God would not be most per-
fect and unchangeable, but, like weak man, should take new coun-
sels, and would be unable to tell every thing that were to come to
pass.
2. They are most wise, ' according to the counsel of his will.'
God cannot properly deliberate or take counsel, as men do ; for he
sees all things together and at once. And thus his decrees are
made with perfect judgment, and laid in the depth of wisdom, Rom,
xi. 83. ' 0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and know-
ledge of God ! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways
past finding out !' So that nothing is determined that could have
been better determined.
3. They are most free, according to the counsel of his oivn ivill ;
depending on no other, but all flowing from the mere pleasure of his
own will, Rom. xi. 34. ' For who hath known the mind of the Lord,
or who hath been his counsellor?' Whatsoever he decreeth to work
without himself, is from his free choice. So his decrees are all ab-
solute, and there are none of them conditional. He has made no
decrees suspended on any condition Avithout himself. Neither has
he decreed any thing because he saw it would come to pass, or as
that which would come to pass on such or such conditions ; for then
they should be no more according to the counsel of his will, but the
creature's will. For God's decrees being eternal, cannot depend
upon a condition which is temporal. They are the determinate
counsels of God, but a conditional decree determines nothing. Such
OF THE DECREES OP GOD. 159
conditional decrees are inconsistent with the infinite wisdom of God,
and are in men only the effects of weakness ; and they are incon-
sistent with the independency of God, making them depend on the
creature.
4. They are unchangeable. They are the unalterable laws of
heaven. God's decrees are constant ; and he by no means alters
his purpose, as men do, Psal. xxxiii. 11. ' The counsel of the Lord
standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.'
Hence they are compared to mountains of brass, Zech. vi. 1. As
nothing can escape his first view, so nothing can be added to his
knowledge. Hence Balaam said, ' God is not a man that he should
lie, neither the son of man, tliat he should repent : hath he said, and
shall he not do it ? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it
good ?' Numb, xxiii. 19. The decree of election is irreversible :
' The foundation of God, (says the apostle), standeth sure, having
this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his,' 2 Tim. ii. 19.
5. They are most holy and pure. For as the sun darts its beams
upon a dunghill, and yet is no way defiled by it ; so God decrees
the permission of sin, as above explained, yet is not the author of
sin : 1 John i. 5. ' God is light, and in him is no darkness at all,'
Jam. i. 13, 17. ' God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth
he any man. With him is no variableness, neither shadow of
turning.'
6. Lastly, They are effectual ; that is, whatsoever God decrees
comes to pass infallibly, Isa. xlvi. 10, ' My counsel shall stand, and
I will do all my pleasure.' He cannot fall short of what he has de-
termined. Yet the liberty of second causes is not hereby taken
away ; for the decree of God offers no violence to the creature's
will ; as appears from the free and unforced actings of Joseph's bre-
thren, Pharoah, the Jews that crucified Christ, &c. Nor does it
take away the contingency of second causes, either in themselves or
as to us, as appears by the lot cast into the lap. Nay they are
thereby established, because he hath efficaciously foreordained that
such eflTects shall follow on such causes.
Before proceeding to the application of this doctrine, it may not
be improper to answer some objections which are brought against
the doctrine of the divine decrees.
1. It is objected by some, that if all things that come to pass in
time be appointed of God by an irreversible decree, then this seems
to make God the author of sin, as if he had ordained that horrid
and liateful evil to come into the world, which is so dishonourable
to himself, and so destructive to the children of men. In answer
to this, you must know,
160 OE THE DECREES OF GOD.
1. That all sinful actions fall under the divine decree. Though
sin itself flows from transgressing the law, yet the futurition of it
is from the decree of God. No such thing could ever have been in
the world, if it had not been determined by the eternal counsel of
Heaven for a holy and just end. This is plainly asserted by the
apostle Peter, with respect to the greatest villainy that was ever
committed on the earth, namely, the death and sufterings of the
Lord Jesus Christ, at the hands of sinful men, Acts ii. 23. forecited.
And the church gives this account of it. Acts iv. 27, 28. ' For of a
truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both
Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of
Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand, and
thy counsel determined before to be done.' There was never such
an atrocious crime or higher act of wickedness committed, than the
murdering of the Lord of glory. And yet it appears from these
texts of scripture, that, in this bloody and horrid scene, wicked men
did no more than God's hand and counsel determined before to be
done.
2. That the decree of God is properly distinguished into that
which is eff'ective, and that which is permissive.
(1.) His eftective decree respects all the good that comes to pass,
whether it be moral or natural goodness. All the actions and mo-
tions of the creatures have a natural goodness in them ; and even
sinful actions considered abstractly from any irregularity, obliquity,
or deformity cleaving to them, have a natural goodness in them, so
far as they are actions : they have a goodness of being considered
purely and simply as actions. Now, God has decreed to efi'ect all
these, yea even sinful actions considered purely as natural. For he
is the first and universal canse of all things, the fountain and
original of all good. And it is said with respect to the oppressions
of the church by wicked men, Psal. cxv. 3. ' Our God is in the hea-
vens ; he hath done whatsoever he pleased.'
(2.) His permissive decree doth only respect the irregularity and
pravity that is in sinful actions. God decreed to permit the same,
or he determined it to be, himself permitting it. Hence it is said,
Acts xiv. 16. ' In times past he suftered all nations to walk in their
own ways.' And God doth nothing in time, but what he did from
eternity decree to do. So that the futurition of sin is from the de-
cree of God. God determined that it should be. He did not de-
cree to have any efficiency in sin, considered as such ; but he willed
that it should be done, himself permitting it. The counsel of God
did not determine to do it, but that it should be done.
3. God decreed the permission of sin for great and glorious ends.
OF THE DECREES OF GOD. 161
It is true, siu in its own nature has no tendency to any good end.
If it end in any good, it is from the overruling providence of God,
and that infinite divine skill that can bring good out of evil, as well
as light out of darkness. Now, the great and glorious end for
which God decreed the after-being of sin, is his own glory : and the
ends subordinate thereunto are not a few. Particularly, God de-
creed the futurition of sin, (1.) That he might have occasion of glorify-
ing his infinite wisdom, love, and grace in the redemption and sal-
vation of a company of lost sinners through the death and sufferings
of his own dear Son. (2.) That his patience and long suffering in
bearing Avith and forbearing sinners, might be magnified, admired,
and adored. (3.) That he might be honoured and glorified by the
faith and repentance of his people, and their walking humbly with
him. (4.) That his justice might be illustriously displayed and
glorified in the eternal damnation of reprobate sinners for their own
sins and abominations, sin being the cause of their damnation,
though not of their reprobation. Thus God decreed the futurition
of siu for these holy and wise ends, that he might glorify his wis-
dom in bringing good out of so great an evil, and a greater good
than the evil he decreed to permit.
4. The deci'ec of God about the permission of sin does not in-
fringe the liberty of man's will. For sin doth not follow the de-
cree by a necessity of co-action or compulsion, which indeed would
destroy human liberty ; but by a necessity of infallibility, which is
very consistent with it. It is sufficient unto human liberty, or the
freedom of man's will, that a man act without all constraint, and
out of choice. Now, this is not taken away by the decree. Men
sin as freely as if there were no decree, and yet as infallibly as if
there were no liberty. And men sin, not to fulfil God's decree,
which is hid from them, but to serve and gratify their vile lusts and
corrupt affections.
Object. 2. If God hath determined the jirecise number of every
man's days by an unalterable decree, tlien the use of means for the
preservation of our health and lives is altogether unnecessary ; for
nothing can frustrate the divine decree. We will certainly live as
long as God hath appointed us, whether we use any means or not.
And therefore when we are hungry, we need not eat and drink;
and when we are sick, we need not take physic, or use any medicines.
In answer to this, you must know, that as God hath decreed the
end, so he hath decreed the means that are proper for attaining that
end ; so that these two must not be separated. Though God hath
decreed how long we shall live, yet seeing it is his ordinary way to
work by means, and he hath commanded and enjoined the use of
162 OF THE DECREES OP GOD.
them to men, therefore it is still our duty to use lawful means for
preserving our life and health, and to wait on God in the due use of
them, referring the event to his wise determination. In Paul's
dangerous voyage to Rome, an angel of the Lord assured him, that
God had given him all that sailed with him in the ship ; and Paul
assured them from the Lord, that there should be no loss of any of
their lives : yet when some were about to flee out of the ship, he
says to the centurion who had the command, ' Except these abide in
the ship, you cannot be saved,' Acts xxvii. 31. And he exhorted
them to take some meat after their long abstinence, telling them,
that it was for their health. From which it plainly appears, that
as God had decreed to save their lives, so he had decreed to save
them in the due use of ordinary means ; so that they were to use
means for the preservation of their life and health. And when
Hezekiah was recovered from a mortal disease, and received a pro-
mise from God that he should have fifteen years added to his days,
and the promise was confirmed by a sign, the miraculous going back
of the sun, he did not neglect or cast off the use of means : but, as
was prescribed by the prophet, he applied a bunch of dried figs to
his sore, and used still his ordinary diet. Therefore it is gross ig-
norance and madness in men to reason so against God's decrees.
The Lord, by an unchangeable counsel and purpose, hath decreed
and set down all things, and how they shall come to pass ; and
therefore it is a wrong way of arguing for people to say, If God
hath determined how long I shall live, then I shall not die sooner,
though I never eat or drink.
Object. 3. If God hath determined the eternal state and condition
of men, whether they shall be happy or miserable for ever, then it
is in vain to repent and believe, or use any means for their own
safety. For if God hath elected them to salvation, they shall cer-
tainly be saved, whether they use any means or not ; and if they
are not elected to everlasting life, all that they can possibly do will
be to no purpose at all, for they shall never be saved by it.
For answer to this, you must know,
1. That God's decree of election is a great secret, which we ought
not to pry into. It is simply impossible for men to know whether
they are elected or not, before they believe. Indeed, if a man were
certain that he is not elected to eternal life, it would be another
case : but as it is not certain that thou art elected, so it is not cer-
tain that thou art not elected. You have no means to know eithei'
the one or the other certainly, till you get saving faith. Till then
the Lord reserves it in his own breast, as a secret which we are not
to pry into. For it is said, Deut. xxix. 29. ' Secret things belong
OF THE DECREES OF GOD. 163
unto the Lord our God ; but those things which are revealed belong
unto us and to our children, that we may do all the things of his
law.' Here the Lord shews what belongs to him and what belongs
to us, and that we should mind our duty, and not busy and perplex
ourselves about impertinencies. Whether men be elected or not
elected, is a secret that God never discloses to an unbeliever ; but
that we should believe on Christ is no secret. This is a duty clearly
revealed and enjoined by the gospel.
2. It is our duty to look to God's commands, and not to his de-
crees ; to our own duty, and not to his purposes. The decrees of
God are a vast ocean, into which many possibly have curiously
pried to their own horror and despair ; but few or none have ever
pried into them to their own profit and satisfaction. Our election is
not written in particular in the word of God ; but our duty is
plainly set down there. If men conscientiously perform their duty,
this is the way to come to the knowledge of their election. Men
therefore should not question whether they be elected or not, but
first believe on Christ, and endeavour diligently to work out their
own salvation ; and if their works be good, and their obedience
true, thereby they will come to a certain knowledge that they were
elected and set apart to everlasting life.
3. As God elects to the end, so he elects also to the means. Now,
faith and obedience are the means and way to salvation ; and there-
fore, if you be elected to salvation, you are also elected to faith and
obedience. See what is said to this purpose, 2 Thess. ii. 13. ' God
hath chosen you to salvation,' there is the end ; ' through sanctifi-
cation of the Spirit and belief of the truth,' there is the means
which lead to that end. Both are decreed by God. If therefore
you heartily and sincerely believe and obey, then your election to
salvation stands firm and sure. Nay, further, the scriptures make
election to be terminated as well in obedience as salvation. So
1 Pet. i. 2. ' Elect (says the apostle) unto obedience, through sancti-
fication of the Spirit.' In the former place it was, ' elect to salva-
tion through sanctification;' but here it is, 'elect to obedience
through sanctification ;' to denote unto us, that none are elected
unto salvation but those that are elected unto obedience. And
therefore it is unreasonable, yea, it is contradictory to say, if I am
elected, I shall be saved, whether I believe and obey or not ; for
none are elected to salvation but through faith and obedience.
4. Men do not pry into the decrees of God in other things, but do
what they know to be incumbent upon them as their duty. And
certainly it is as unreasonable here. When you are dangerously
sick, and the physician tells you, that unless you take sucli and such
164
OF THE DECREES OF GOD.
medicines, your case is desperate ; you do not use to reason thus,
Then if God liatli decreed my recovery, I will certainly be restored
to my health, whether I take that course of physic or not ; but you
presently fall in with the advice given you, and make use of the
means prescribed for your health. And will you not do so here ?
You are dangerously sick and mortally wounded with sin, and God
commands you to flee to Christ the only physician that can cure you,
and cast yourselves upon him, and you shall certainly be saved.
But 0, says the sinner, if I knew that God had decreed my salva-
tion, I would venture on Christ ; but till once I know this, I must
not believe: 0 how unreasonable is unbelief! The devil's sugges-
tions make poor creatures act as if they were entirely distracted
and out of their wits. This is just as if an Israelite stung Avith
the fiery serpents should have said. If I kncAV that the Lord had
decreed my cure, I would look upon the brazen serpent, and if he
hath decreed it, I will certainly recover whether I look to it or not.
If all the stung Israelites had been thus resolved, it is likely they
had all perished. Or this is as if one pursued by the avenger of
blood, should have set himself down in the way to the city of refuge,
where he should have been flying for his life, and said. If God hath
decreed my escape, then I will be safe whether I run to the city of
refuge or not ; but if he hath not decreed it, then it is in vain for
me to go thither. Now, would not men count this a wilful casting
away of his life, with a careless neglect of that provision which God
hath made to save it ? "Was it not sufficient that a way was made
for his escape, and a way feasible enough, the city of refuge being
always open ? Thus the arms of Christ are always open to receive
and embrace poor humbled perishing sinners fleeing to him for help.
And will men destroy themselves by sufteriug Satan to entangle
them with a needless, impertinent, and unreasonable scruple ? In
other cases, if there be no way but one, and any encouraging pro-
bability to draw men into it, they run into it without delay, not
perplexing and discouraging themselves with the decrees of God.
Now, this is thy case, 0 sinner ; Christ is the way, the truth, and
the life ; there is no other by whom you can be saved ; flee to him
then as for thy life ; and let not Satan hinder thee, by diverting
thee to impossibilities and impertinencies. Comply with the call
and oflTer of the gospel. This is present and pertinent duty, and
trouble not thyself about the secrets of God.
I conclude all with a few inferences.
1. Has God decreed all things that come to pass? Then there is
nothing that falls out by chance, nor are we to ascribe what we
meet with either to good or ill luck and fortune. There are many
OF TIIK DECREES OF GOD. 165
events in the world which men look upon as mere accidents, yet all
these come by the counsel and appointment of Heaven. Solomon
tells us, Prov. xvi. 33. that ' the lot is cast into the lap, but the
whole disposing thereof is from the Lord.' However casual and
fortuitous things may be with respect to us, yet they are all deter-
mined and directed by the Lord. When that man drew a bow at
a venture, 1 Kings xxii. 34. it was merely accidental with respect
to him, yet it was God that guided the motion of the arrow so as to
smite the king of Israel rather than any other man. Nothing then
comes to pass, however casual and uncertain it may seem to be, but
what was decreed by God.
2. Hence we see God's certain knowledge of all things that hap-
pen in the world, seeing his knowledge is founded on his decree.
As he sees all things possible in the glass of his own power, so he
sees all things to come in the glass of his own will ; of his eftccting
will, if he hath decreed to produce them; and of his permitting will,
if he hath decreed to suffer them. Hence his declaration of things
to come is founded on his appointing them, Isa. xliv. 7- * Who, as I,
shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I
appointed the ancient people ? and the things that are coming and
shall come ? let them shew unto them.' He foreknows the most
necessary things according to the course of nature, because he de-
creed that such effects should proceed from and necessarily follow
such and such causes : and he knows all future contingents, all
things which shall fall out by chance, and the most free actions of
rational creatures, because he decreed that such things should come
to pass contingently or freely, according to the nature of second
causes. So that what is casual or contingent with respect to us, is
certain and necessary in regard of God.
3. Whoever be the instruments of any good to us, of whatever
sort, we must look above them, and eye the hand and counsel of
God in it, Avhich is the first spring, and be duly thankful to God
for it. And whatever evil of crosses or afflictions befals us, we
must look above the instruments of it to God. Affliction doth not
rise out of the dust or come to men by chance ; but it is the Lord
that sends it, and we should own and reverence his hand in it. So
did David in the day of his extreme distress. 2 Sam. xvi. 11. ' Let
him alone, and let him curse ; for the Lord hath bidden him.' We
should be patient under whatever distress befals us, considering that
God is our party. Job ii, 10. ' Shall we receive good at the hand of
God, and shall we not receive evil ?' This would be a happy means
to still our quarrelings at adverse dispensations. Hence David
says, ' I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it,'
Psal. xxxix. 9.
166 OF THE DECREES OF GOD.
4. See here the evil of murmuring and complaining at our lot in
the world. IIow apt are ye to quarrel with God, as if he were
in the wrong when liis dealings with you are not according to
your own desires and wishes? You demand a reason, and call
God to an account, Why am I thus ? why so much aiflicted and dis-
tressed ? why so long afflicted ? and why such an affliction rather
than another ? why am I so poor and another so rich ? Thus your
hearts rise up against God. But you should remember, that this is
to defame the counsels of infinite wisdom, as if God had not ordered
your affairs wisely enough in his eternal counsel. We find the
Lord reproving Job for this, chap. xl. 2. ' shall he that contendeth
with the Lord instruct him ?' When ye murmur and repine under
cross and afflictive dispensations, this is a presuming to instruct God
how to deal with you, and to reprove him as if he were in the
wrong. Yea, there is a kind of implicit blasphemy in it, as if you
had more wisdom and justice to dispose of your lot, and to carve
out your own portion in the world. This is upon the matter the
language of such a disposition, Had I been on God's counsel, I had
ordered this matter better ; things had not been with me as now
they are. 0 presume not to correct the infinite wisdom of God,
seeing he has decreed all things most wisely and judiciously.
6. There is no reason for people to excuse their sins and falls,
from the doctrine of the divine decrees. Wicked men, when they
commit some villainy or atrocious crime, are apt to plead thus for
their excuse. Who can help it ? God would have it so ; it was ap-
pointed for me before I was born, so that I could not avoid it.
This is a horrid abuse of the divine decrees, as if they did constrain
men to sin : Whereas the decree is an immanent act of God, and so
can have no influence, physical or moral upon the wills of men, but
leaves them to the liberty and free choice of their own hearts ; and
what sinners do, they do most freely and of choice. It is a horrid
and detestable wickedness to cast the blame of your sin upon God's
decree. This is to charge your villainy upon him, as if he were the
a\ithor of it. It is great folly to cast your sins upon Satan who
tempted you, or upon your neighbour who provoked you ; but it is
a far greater sin, nay horrid blasphemy, to cast it upon God him-
self. A greater affront than this cannot be offered to the infinite
holiness of God.
6. Lastly, Let the people of God comfort themselves in all cases
by this doctrine of the divine decrees ; and, amidst whatever befals
them, rest quietly and submissively in the bosom of God, consider-
ing that whatever comes or can come to pass, proceeds from the de-
cree of their gracious friend and reconciled Father, who knows
OP THE WORK OF CREATION. 167
what is best for them, and will make all things work together for
their good. 0 what a sweet and pleasant life would ye haA'e under
the heaviest pressures of affliction, and what heavenly serenity and
tranquillity of mind would you enjoy, would you cheerfully acqui-
esce in the good will and pleasure of God, and embrace every dis-
pensation, how sharp soever it may be, because it is determined and
appointed for you by the eternal counsel of his will !
OF THE WORK OF CREATION.
Heb. xi. 3. — Tlirough faith xue understand that the worlds were framed
by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of
things which do appear.
Having discoursed to you of the decrees of God, whereby he hath
fore-ordained whatsoever comes to pass, I come now to treat of the
execution of these decrees. That question, ' How doth God execute
his decrees ?' being only an introduction to what follows, it is need-
less to insist on it. Only you must know, that for God to execute
his decrees, is to bring to pass Avhat he has decreed. Now, what
God from all eternity decreed is brought to pass in the works of
creation and providence. Nothing falls out in either of these but
what was decreed ; nor does it fall out in any other way than as it
was decreed. The decrees of God are as it were the scheme, draught
and pattern of the house ; and the works of creation and providence
are the house, built in every point conformable to the draught.
In the text we have an answer to that question, ' What is the
work of creation ?' Wherein, we may consider,
1. What we understand about it. (1.) The making of the
world ; it was framed, and had a beginning, not being from eternity.
(2.) The author and efficient cause of it, God. (3.) What God
made, the luorlds ; all things, heaven, earth, sea, air, &c. and all the
inhabitants thereof, angels, men, cattle, fowls, fishes, &c. (4.) How
they were made. In/ the word of God, that word of power which
spake all things, into being. Or it may denote Jesus Christ, who
is called the word of God, and by whom God made the worlds. (5.)
Whereof they were made. This is declared negatively, Things
which are seen were not made of things which do appear, that is, not of
pre-existcnt matter, but of nothing. By things that are seen may be
understood visible corporeal things ; and if these were made of no-
thing, much more things that are not seen. But I rather under-
1G8 OF THE WORK OF CREATION.
stand it of all things wliicli arc seen to have a being ; for that word
relates to the eyes of the understanding, as well as of the body.
2. How we understand this creation of the world, through faith.
Not that we can understand nothing of the creation by the light of
nature ; for the eternity of the world is contrary to reason as well
as faith ; but we have the full and certain knowledge of this work
of creation in the particular circumstances of it, through faith as-
senting to divine revelation, and no other way.
In speaking to this work of creation I shall shew,
I. What we are to understand by creation.
II. That the world was made, or had a beginning.
III. Who made it.
IV. What God made.
V. Whereof all things were made.
VI. How they were made.
VII. In what space of time they were made.
VIII. For what end God made all things.
IX. In what case or condition he made them.
X. Deduce some inferences from the whole.
I. I am to show what we are to understand by creation, or what
it is to create.
1. It is not to be taken here in a large sense, as sometimes it is
used in scripture, for any production of things wherein second
causes have their instrumentality ; as when it is said, Psal. civ. 30.
' Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created ; and thou renewest
the face of the earth.' Where the meaning is, thou sendest forth
thy quickening power, which produceth life in the creatures from
time to time : for the Psalmist speaks not here of the first creation,
but of the continued and repeated production of living creatures, in
which the divine power is the principal agent. But,
2. We are to take it strictly, for the production of things out of
nothing, or the giving a being to things which had none before.
And here you must know, that there is a twofold creation, one im-
mediate, and the other mediate.
(1.) There is an immediate creation; as when things are brought
forth out of pure nothing, where there was no pre-existent matter
to work upon. Thus the heavens, the earth, the waters, and all the
materials of inferior bodies, were made of nothing ; and the souls
of men are still produced from the womb of nothing by God's crea-
tive power, and infused into their bodies immediately by him, when
they are fully organised to receive them.
(2.) There is a secondary and mediate creation, which is the mak-
ing things of pre-existing matter, but of such as is naturally unfit
OF THE WORK OF CREATION. 169
and altogether indisposed for such productions, and which could ne-
ver by any power of second causes be brought into such a form.
Thus all beasts, cattle, and creeping things, and the body of man,
were at first made of the earth, and the dust of the ground ; and the
body of the first woman was made of a rib taken out of the man.
Now, this was a creation as well as the former ; because, though
there was matter here to work upon, yet it could never have been
reduced into such a form without the efficacy of Almighty power.
"We have an account of both these in the history of the creation.
It is said, Gen. i. 1. 'In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth ;' i. e, he made that mighty mass of matter out of no-
thing, which was at first a rude and indigested lump ; for the earth
was without form, and the heavens without light. And then by
that same omnipotent power he reduced it into that beautiful order
and disposition wherein it now appears to our view.
II. I go on to shew that the world was made, that it had a begin-
ning and was not eternal. This the scripture plainly testifies, Gen.
i. 1. above quoted. And this reason itself teacheth : for whatsoever
is eternal, the being of it is necessary, and it is subject to no alter-
ation. But we see this is not the case with the world ; for it is
daily undergoing alterations.
III. I am next to shew who made the world, and gave it a be-
ginning. That was God and he only, Gen. i. 1. 'In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth.' This will evidently ap-
pear from the following particulars.
1. The world could not make itself; for this would imply a
horrid contradiction, namely, that the world was before it was ; for
the cause must always be before its efi'ect. That which is not in
being, can have no production ; for nothing can act before it exists.
As nothing hath no existence, so it hath no operation. There must
therefore be something of real existence, to give a being to those
things that are ; and every second cause must be an effect of some
other before it be a cause. To be and not to be at the same time, is
a manifest contradiction, which would infallibly take place if any
thing made itself. That which makes is always before that which
is made, as is obvious to the most illiterate peasant. If the world
were a creator, it must be before itself as a creature.
2. The production of the world could not be by chance. It was
indeed the extravagant fancy of some ancient philosophers, that the
original of the world was from a fortuitous concourse of atoms,
which were in perpetual motion in an immense space, till at last a
sufficient number of them met in such a happy conjunction as
formed the universe in the beautiful order in which we now behold
M
170 OP THE WORK OP CREATION,
it. But it is amazingly strange how such a wild opinion, which can
never be reconciled with reason, could ever find any entertainment
in a human mind. Can any man rationally conceive, that a con-
fused rout of atoms, of diverse natures and forms, and some so far
distant from others, should ever meet in such a fortunate manner,
as to form an entire world, so vast in the bigness, so distinct in the
order, so united in the diversities of natures, so regular in the
variety of changes, and so beautiful in the whole composure ? Such
an extravagant fancy as this can only possess the thoughts of a dis-
ordered brain.
3. God created all things, the world, and all the creatures that
belong to it. He attributes this work to himself, as one of the
peculiar glories of his Deity, exclusive of all the creatures. So we
read, Isa. xliv. 24. ' I am the Lord that maketh all things ; that
stretcheth forth the heavens alone ; that spreadeth abroad the earth
by myself.' Chap. xlv. 12. * I liave made the earth, and created
man upon it ; I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and
all their host have I commanded.' Chap. xl. 12, 13. 'Who hath
measured the waters in the hollow of his hand? and meted out
heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a
measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a
balance ? "Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his
counsellor hath taught him ? Job ix. 8. ' Which alone spreadeth
out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.' These
are magnificent descriptions of the creating power of God, and ex-
ceed every thing of the kind that hath been attempted by the pens
of the greatest sages of antiquity. — By this operation God is dis-
tinguished from all the false gods and fictitious deities which the
blinded nations adored, and shews himself to be the true God. Jer.
X. 11. 12. ' The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth,
even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these hea-
vens. He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established
the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his
discretion.' Psal. xcvi. 5. ' All the gods of the nations are idols :
but the Lord made the heavens.' Isa. xxxvii. 19. ' Thou art the
God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth : thou hast
made heaven and earth.' None could make the world but God,
because creation is a work of infinite power, and could not be pro-
duced by any finite cause : For the distance between being and not
being is truly infinite, which could not be removed by any finite
agent, or the activity of all finite agents united.
This work of creation is common to all the three persons in the
adorable Trinity. The Father is described in scripture as the
OP THE WORK OF CREATION. 171
Creator, 1 Cor, viii. 6. — ' The Father, of whom are all thiugs.'
The same prerogative belongs to the Son, John i. 3. 'All things
were made by him (the Word, the Son) ; and withont him was not
any thing made that was made.' The same honour belongs to the
Holy Ghost, as Job xxvi. 13. ' By his Spirit he hath garnished the
heavens.' Chap, xxxiii, 4. ' The Spirit of God hath made me (says
Elihu), and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.' All
the three persons are one God ; God is the Creator ; and therefore
all the external works and acts of the one God must be common to
the three persons. Hence, when the wox'k of creation is ascribed to
the Father, neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit are excluded ; but
because, as the Father is the fountain of the Deity, so he is the
fountain of divine works. The Fatlier created from himself by the
Son and the Spirit ; the Son from the Father by the Spirit ; and
the Spirit from the Father and the Son ; the manner or order of
their working being according to the order of their subsisting. The
matter may be conceived thus : All the three persons being one
God, possessed of the same infinite perfections ; the Father, the
first in subsistence, willed the work of creation to be done by his
authority : ' He spake, and it was done ; he commanded, and it
stood fast.' — In respect of immediate operation, it peculiarly be-
longed to the Son. For 'the Father created all things by Jesus
Christ,' Eph. iii. 9. And we are told, that ' all things were made
by him,' John iii. 3. This work in regard of disposition and orna-
ment, doth peculiarly belong to the Holy Ghost. So it is said, Gen.
i. 2. ' The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters,' to gar-
nish and adorn the world, after the matter of it was formed. Thus
it is also said. Job xxvi. 13. above cited, ' By his Spirit he hath gar-
nished the heavens.'
IV. Our next province is to shew what God made. All things
whatsoever, besides God, were created, Rev. iv. 11. 'Thou hast
created all things ; and for thy pleasure they are and were created.'
Col. i. 16. ' By him were all things created.' The evil of sin is no
positive being, it being but a defect or want, and therefore is not rec-
koned among the things which God made, but owes its existence to
the will of fallen angels and men. Devils being angels, are God's
creatures ; but God did not make them evil, or devils, but they
made themselves so.
Those things that were made in the beginning were most properly
created of God ; but whatsoever is or will be produced in the world,
is still made by God, not only in respect that the matter whereof
they are made was created by him, but because he is the first cause
of all things, without whom second causes could produce nothing ;
M 2
172 OF THE WORK OF CUEATION.
and whatever power one creature Las of producing another, is from
God. Hence Elihu says, as above cited, ' The Spirit of God hath
made me ;' though he was produced by the operation of second
causes. And it is worth while to consider what David says on this
head, Psal. cxxxix. 13, — 16. This clearly appears from the impo-
tency of the creature to produce any thing according to nature,
when God denies his concurrence. Hence we have a chain of causes
described, Hos. ii. 21, 22. where God is the first cause, and acts the
same part in all other operations wherein creatures are concerned :
* I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall
hear the earth, and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and
the oil, and they shall hear Jezreel.' If it be asked, then, what did
God make ? I answer, he made every thing that has a being, this
stately structure of the universe, and that vast variety of creatures
that are in it, sin only excepted, which he permitted should take
place, but had no hand in the eff'ecting of it as such.
Y. I proceed to shew of what all things were made. Of nothing ;
which does not denote any matter of which they were formed, but
the term from which God brought them ; when they had no being he
gave them one. There was no pre-existent matter to make them of,
nothing at all to work upon : for he ' made all things both visible
and invisible,' Col. i. 16. Rom. xi. 36. If then he made all things, he
must needs have made them of nothing, unless he would say there
was, besides God, something before there was any thing, which is a
palpable contradiction. To create is properly to make a thing of
nothing, to make a thing have an existence that had none before.
Thus were the heavens and the earth made of nothing simply ; that
is, they began to exist, which they never did before. This is what
is called immediate creation, as I shewed on the first head. But
there is a mediate creation, as I also noticed, which is a producing
of things from nlatter altogether unfit for the work, and which could
never be disposed, but by an almighty power to be such a thing.
Thus man's body was created of the dust, and this itself was cre-
ated of nothing, and was utterly unfit for producing such a work
without a superior agency.
YI. The sixth head is to shew, how all things were made of no-
thing. By the word of God's power. It was the infinite power of
God that gave them a being ; which power was exerted in his word,
not a word properly spoken, but an act of his will commanding them
to be. Gen. i. 3. God said, ' Let there be light and there was light,'
Psal. xxxiii. 6, 9, ' By the word of the Lord were the heavens made.
He spake and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.' By
his powerful word he called them from nothing to being, Rom. iv.
OP THE WORK OF CREATIOIS^. 173
17. ' CJod calleth those things which be not as though they were.'
This is a notable evidence of infinite power, which with so great easi-
ness as the speaking of a word, could raise up this glorious fabric of
the world. An heathen philosopher considered this as a striking
instance of the sublime, peculiar to the books of the Jewish legis-
lator.
VII. Our next business is to shew in what space of time the
world was created. It was not done in a moment, but in the space
of six days, as is clear from the narrative of Moses. It was as easy
for God to have done it in one moment as in six days. But this
method he took, that we might have that wisdom, goodness, and
power that appeared in the work, distinctly before our eyes, and be
stirred up to a particular and distinct consideration of these works,
for commemoration of which a seventh day is appointed a sabbath
of rest.
But although God did not make all things in one moment, yet we
are to believe, that every particular work was done in a moment,
seeing it was done by a word, or an act of the divine will, Psal.
xxxiii. 9. forecited. No sooner was the divine will intimated, than
the thing willed instantly took place.
In the space of these six days the angels were created ; and it is
not to be thought that they were brought into being before that
period ; for the scripture expressly asserts, that all things were cre-
ated in that space, Exod. xx. 11. And though Moses, Gen. i. makes
no express mention of the angels, yet, Gen. ii. 1, he shews that they
were created in one of these six days, as he mentions the host of the
heavens and the earth ; and it is certain, that in the host of heaven
the angels are included, 1 Kings xxii. 19. where Micaiah the pro-
phet says, ' I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of
heaven (which can be no other than the angels) standing by him.'
The works of the first day were, (1.) The highest heaven, the
seat of the blessed, and that with the angels its inhabitants, who in
Job xxxviii. 4, — 7- under the designation of ' morning stars and sons
of God,' are said to have ' sang together, and shouted for joy,' when
the foundations of the earth were laid, as being then .made. (2.)
The earth, that is, the mass of earth and water, which Moses says
was without form and void ; that is, without that beauty and order
which it afterwards received, and destitute of inhabitants, and with-
out furniture and use. (3.) The light, which was afterwards ga-
thered together, and distributed into the body of the sun and stars.
The works of the second day were the firmament ; that is, that
expansion or vast space Avhich extends itself from the surface of the
earth to the utmost extremity of the visible heavens, which ver. 8.
M 3
174 OF THE WORK OF CREATION.
is called heaven, that is, tlie jcrial heavens, the habitation of birds
and fowls, through which they wing their way. This vast extension
is called the firmament, because it is fixed in its proper place, with-
out which it cannot be removed without force and violence. An-
other work of this day was the dividing of the waters above the
firmament, that is, the clouds, from the waters as yet mixed with
the earth, which were afterwards gathered together into seas, rivers,
lakes, fountains, &c.
On the third day, the lower waters were gathered into certain
hollow places, which formed the sea ; and the dry land appeared,
adorned with plants, trees, and herbs, which continue to be pro-
duced to this day.
On the fourth day, the sun, moon, and stars were made, to en-
lighten the world, and render it a beautiful place, which otherwise
would have been an uncomfortable dungeon, and to distinguish the
four seasons of the year.
On the fifth day, the fishes and fowls were made.
On the sixth day, all sorts of beasts, tame and wild, and creeping
things were produced out of the earth ; and last of all, man, male
and female.
It is probable that the world was created in autumn, that season
of the year in which generally things are brought to perfection for
the use of man and beast. But this not being an article of faith,
■we need not insist upon it.
VIII. I come now to shew for what end God made all things. It
was for his own glory, Prov. xvi.4. ' The Lord hath made all things
for himself,' Rom. xi. 36. ' For of him, and through him, and to
him are all things.' And there are these three attributes of God
that especially shine forth in this work of creation, namely, his wis-
dom, power, and goodness.
1. His wisdom eminently appears, (1.) In that after the heavens
and their inhabitants were created, those things that have only be-
ing and not life, then those that have being and life, but not sense,
then those that have being, life, and sense, but not reason, and last
of all, man, having being, life, sense, and reason, were successively
formed. ' 0 Lord, how manifold are thy works ! in wisdom hast
thou made them all.' (2.) In his appointing of every thing to its
proper use, by the law of creation. Gen. i. Hence the wisdom of
God is celebrated in that work, Jer. x. 12. ' He hath made the earth
by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath
stretched out the heavens by his discretion.'
2. The power of God appeared, (1.) In creating all things by a
word, which instantly produced the eflfect intended. (2.) In that he
OP THE WORK OP CREATION. 175
crecated plants, herbs, aud trees, before the sun, moon, and stars,
which now naturally are the causes of the earth's producing its
fruits ; as also light before them, for discovering their beauty and
verdure.
3. His goodness appears, in that he first prepared the place be-
fore he brought in the inhabitants, first provided the food before the
living creatures were made, and adorned and fitted all for the use of
man, before he formed him.
IX. If it is asked, ' In what state were all things made ? I an-
swer. They were all ' very good,' Gen. i. 31. The goodness of the
creature consists in its fitness for the use for which it was made.
In this respect every thing answered exactly the end of its creation.
Again, the goodness of things is their perfection; and so every
thing was made agreeable to the idea thereof that was formed in the
divine mind. There was not the least blemish or defect in the
work ; but every thing was beautiful, as it was the effect of infinite
wisdom as well as almighty pow^er. And Grod being the end of all,
even nattiral things tend to him. (1.) Declaring his glory in an
objective way, Psal. xix. 1. (2.) Stirring us up to seek him, and
behold him as our chief good and portion. Acts xvii. 26, 27. Rom.
i. 20. (3.) Sustaining our life, and serving man, that he might
serve God, for which he was made very fit, in regard of the rich
endowments of his mind, all pure, holy, and upright, 1 Cor. x. 31.
All the sin and misery that is now in the world, by which its
beauty is greatly marred, its goodness defaced, and disorder and
irregularity so universally prevail, proceeded from Satan, and man's
yielding to his temptations.
I shall shut up this subject with a few inferences.
1. God is a most glorious being, infinitely lovely and desirable,
possessed of every perfection and excellency. He made all things,
aud bestowed upon them all the perfections and amiable qualities
Avith which they are invested. So that there is no perfection in any
of the creatures which is not in him in an eminent way, Psal. xciv.
9. ' He that planted the ear, shall he not hear ? he that formed the
eye, shall he not see ?' Whatever excellency and beauty is in the
creatures, is all from him ; and sure it must be most excellent in
the fountain.
2. God's glory should be our chief end. And seeing whatever we
have is from him, it should be used and employed for him : For ' all
things were created by him and for him,' Col. i. 16. Have we a
tongue ? It should be employed for him, to shew forth his praise ;
hands? they should do and work for him; life? it should be em-
ployed in his service ; talents and abilities ? they should be laid out
176 OF THE WORK OF CREATION.
for promoting Lis interest and honour ; and, upon a proper call, we
should be ready to suffer for him.
3. God is our Soyercign Lord Proprietor, and may do in us, ou
us, and by us, what he will : Ilom. ix. 20, 21. ' Shall the thing
formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus ?
Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make
one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour ?' There is no
reason to murmur and fret under the cross, or any afflicting dispen-
sations, that he exercises us with. Should he destroy that being
that he gave us, to whom would he do wrong ? As he gave it us
freely, he may take it away, without any impeachment of his good-
ness and justice. May not Grod do with his own what he will ?
4. "We should use all the creatures we make use of with an eye
to God, and due thankfulness to him, the giver ; employing them
for our use, and in our service, soberly and wisely, with hearts full
of gratitude to our Divine Benefactor ; considering they stand re-
lated to God as their Creator, and are the workmanship of his own
hands. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be re-
fused, if it be received with thanksgiving, 1 Tim. iv. 4. They are
not to be used to his dishonour, or the feeding of our base lusts and
irregular appetites, but to fit us for and strengthen us in the per-
formance of our duty to him.
There is no case so desperate, but faith may get sure footing with
respect to it in the power and word of God. Let the people of God
be ever so low, they can never be lower than when they were not at
all. Hence the Lord says, Isa. Ixv. 18. ' Be glad and rejoice,' &c.
He spoke a word and so the creature was made at first ; and it will
cost him but a word to make it over again. Hence Christ is called
' the beginning of the creation of God,' Rev. iii. 14. 0 seek to be
new-made by him ; that old things may pass away, and all things
become new.
6. Give away yourselves to God through Jesus Christ, making an
hearty, a cheerful, and an entire dedication and surrender of your
souls and bodies, and all that ye are and have, to him as your God
and Father, resolving to serve and obey him all the days of your
life : that as he made you for his glory, you may in some measure
answer the end of your creation, which is to shew forth his praise.
Serve not sin or Satan any longer. God made you upright and
holy ; but Satan unmade you, stripping you of your highest glory
and ornament. Relinquish his service, which is the basest drudgery
and slavery, and will land all that are employed in it in hell at
last : and engage in the service of God in Clirist, which is truly
honourable and glorious, and will be crowned with an everlasting
OF TUE CREATXOIf OP MAX. 177
reward in the other world : for where he is, there shall his servants
also be.
7- Lastly, This doctrine affords a ground of love, peace, justice
and mercy betwixt men, which should be carefully cultivated by all
that would desire to be with God for ever. For says the prophet,
Mai. ii. 10. ' Have we not all one Father ? hath not one God created
us ? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother,
by profaning the covenant of our fathers ?' The consideration of
being created by God, should be a powerful inducement to us to
practise all the duties we owe to one another as men and Christians.
OF THE CREATIOiSf OF MAN.
Gen. i. 27. — So God created inan in his oivn image, in the image of
God created he him : male and female created he them.
Having discoursed of the creation of all things out of nothing, and
exhibited some of the displays of the admirable wisdom, power, and
goodness of God apparent therein, I come now to speak of the cre-
ation of man, the masterpiece of the lower creation. In the text
we have an answer to that question, ' How did God create man ?'
God only spake the word and then the other creatures were pro-
duced : but being to create man, he called a council of the Trinity
for that end : whereby the excellency of man above the other crea-
tures, who is a compend of the world, is clearly demonstrated.
Here we have the execution of that council, So God created man, 8fc.
For, as says Seneca, a heathen moralist, man is not a work huddled
over in a haste, and done without great forethought and considera-
tion ; for man is the greatest and most stupendous work of God,
even of God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. As the sacred historian
had said before of the Creator, ' Let us make man in our image,'
&c. so it is not for nought that he repeats the act of creating three
times in this verse ; in wliich also the us in the former verse is re-
strained to God ; so that the plurality there spoken of is not God
and angels, but the three persons, one God ; for it was not angels,
but God that created man. Man here signifies man and woman,
male and female, Adam and Eve. Wherefore they are called him
and them; for as they were originally one, God having made two of
one by creation ; so they two were made one again by marriage.
And they were both made in one day, Gen. i. 26. — 31. ; and that iu
the image of God, which is twice repeated ; the import whereof
178 OF THE CREATION OF MAN.
seems to be, that man was made very like God. Whereas there is
but a shadow and vestige of him in the inferior creatures, as we
may read the name and perfections of God in the least herb of the
field ; man was made so to represent God in his moral perfections as
to imitate his virtues. Two things are here to be considered,
I. God's making man male and female.
II. His making man after his image.
I. Let us consider God's making man, male and female ; that is,
man and woman.
First, Adam was the male, and Eve the female. These were the
common parents of all mankind, and there was no man in the world,
before Adam. He is expressly called ' the first man,' 1 Cor. xv. 5.
and Eve ' the mother of all living,' Gen. iii. 20. And hence it is
said ' God hath made of one blood all nations of men,' Acts xvii. 26.
Secondly, Man consists of a soul and body, which being united
constitute man ; that is, man or woman. Here I shall consider, 1.
The body ; and, 2. The soul.
1. The body of the man. Man's body is a piece of most rare and
curious workmanship, plainly indicating its divine Maker. In it
there is a variety of members, none of them superfluous, but all
adapted to the use assigned them by the wise Creator. The man's
body, as Moses tells us, was formed of the dust of the ground. Gen.
ii. 7. Hence he was called Adam, which signifies red earth; of
which sort of virgin-earth man's body seems to have been made.
The word rendered dmt, signifies not dust simply, (says Zanchius),
but clay, which is earth and water. This may teach us humility,
and repress our pride, and particularly glorying in beauty or any
external advantages of person, seeing we are sprung of no higher
original than the earth upon which we tread ; especially seeing, as
we derived our first being from it, we must return to it again, there
to abide till the resurrection-day.
2. The woman's body was formed of the man's, Gen. ii. 21, 22. of
a rib of the man's side, but not a bare rib, but flesh on it, ver. 23.
which was taken out of his side while he was in a deep sleep, into
which God cast him ; so that he felt no pain. And it is not im-
probable, that in that deep sleep God revealed to him what he him-
self afterwards declares concerning Eve, and marriage in general,
ver. 23, 24. "Whether Adam had more ribs than other men, is not
determined. If he had, it was not superfluous to him as the origin
of mankind, though it might be as a private person; and therefore
Eve being made of it, there was no more use for it. If he had not
more ribs than other men, yet he sustained no loss thereby, which
was otherwise made up, ver. 21. either by a new rib, or hardening
OF TUB CEEATION OP MAN. 179
the flesh to the use of a rib. In this the wisdom of God doth
illustriously appear.
(1.) The woman's body was made of nobler matter than the
man's, to be some ballast to the man's excellency in respect of his
sex, that he might not despise but honour her. The word rendered
made, Gen. ii. 22. is in the Hebrew hiilt. He made the man, but he
built the woman, as a stately palace, or house, where all mankind
draw their first breath.
(2.) It was made of the man's body, to teach men to love their
wives as their own flesh.
(3.) It was not made out of man's head, to shew her that she is
not to be her husband's mistress, nor usurp authority over him, 1
Tim. ii. 12. ; nor out of his feet, to shew him that she is not to
be his slave, to be trampled on by him ; but out of his side, near his
heart, to shew him that she must be treated as his companion,
loved, nourished, and cherished by him.
(4.) Lastly, The mystery of the church drawing her life out of
Christ's sleeping the sleep of death on the cross, Eph. v. seems to
have been here intended and shadowed forth.
The bodies of both our first parents were far more beautiful,
handsome, and graceful than our bodies are now. We are begot of
men, but they were the immediate workmanship of God. The
author being more excellent, the workmanship must be so too.
And so Adam signifies to be ruddy, and to shine, Lam. iv. 7- So
that to Eve in particular may justly be applied the following lines
of a celebrated poet :
A woman loveliest of the lovely kind,
In body perfect, and complete in mind.
Secondly, The soul of man was of an original far different from
that of his body. Moses gives us this account of it, Gen. ii. 7. * The
Lord God — breathed into his nostrils the breath of life ; and man
became a living soul.' The Lord inspired him with a living reason-
able soul, which presently appeared by his breathing at his nostrils ;
whereas before he was only a fair lifeless body. And this difl'erent
account of man's soul and body clearly holds forth, that it was not
fetched out of any power in the matter of his body, but was created
of nothing. For this inspiration plainly implies that something was
infused into it, which was not in it before, and did not originally in-
here in it. Thus was the soul both of the man and the woman
created ; for that both were created with rational souls, is taught in
our text, where they are said to be made after God's image ; and
Moses leaves us to gather the manner of the creation of the woman's
180 OP THE CREATION OP MAN.
soul from that of Adam's. Concerning the soul of man, three
things are specially to be known.
1. That it is an incorporeal or spiritual substance, different from
the body. It is called a spirit, Zech. xii. 1. And Stephen prays.
Acts vii. 59. ' Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit. Compare Luke xxiv.
39. where our Lord says concerning his body after his resurrection
from the dead, ' Handle me, and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and
bones, as ye see me have.'
2. As the souls of Adam and Eve were immediately created of
God, so the souls of all their posterity are immediately formed by
God, and proceed not from their parents by generation or any other
way : but God infuseth the soul created by him of nothing, into the
body formed in the womb when it is fitly organised to receive it.
And yet a man may properly be said to beget a man, though he
only begets the body, as well as to kill a man, though he can only
kill the body. This is plain from that express scripture-testimony,
Zech. xii. 1. — 'that formeth the spirit of man within him.' So,
Heb. xii. 9. God is held forth as ' The Father of spirits,' in opposi-
tion to men as ' the fathers of our flesh ;' which must needs be by
immediate creation ; for otherwise he is the Father of our flesh too,
Eccl. xii. 7. ' Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was ; and
the spirit shall return to God who gave it.' He gave the body too,
but the soul in such a manner as he gave not the body.
3. Hence the soul is immortal, being a spirit, and dies not with
the body, Eccl. xii. 7- just cited. Being immaterial, not consisting
of parts, it cannot be dissolved. Men can kill the body, but not the
soul ; and therefore it doth not die with the body, being invulner-
able, and unsusceptive of external injuries, Matth. x. 28. and xxii.
32. Neither does it sleep till the resurrection, as some have fool-
ishly supposed. Our Lord told the thief on the cross, that that
very day he (that is, his soul) should be with him in paradise, not to
sleep, but to be actively employed in exercises peculiar to the hea-
venly state. And certain it is that the apostle Paul had no such
thought, when he said, Phil. i. 23. ' I am in a strait betwixt two,
having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ ; which is far
better.' If his soul was to sleep and doze in indolence and inacti-
vity after his death, he had never preferred the dissolution of his
body, and the advantage of being with Christ, to his continuing in
his mortal state, in which he was most usefully employed.
Tliirdly, Why did God make man male and female ?
1. That man might have a meet help. Gen. ii. 18. ; and this was
the meetest help for the comfort of life, (however uncomfortable sin
has now made it) ; otherwise God had given Adam a friend and not
OF THE CREATION OF MAN. 181
a wife. Hence the endearments of conjugal society, wlien discreetly
and properly entered into and cultivated, are found, even in our
present imperfect state, far preferable to those arising from the
strictest and closest friendships among men.
2. ,For the lawful propagation of mankind, Gen. i. 27, 28. that
there might be a godly seed, Mai. ii. 15. and for a remedy against
all inordinate lusts and libidinous desires.
II. Let us now consider God's making man after his own image.
Here I shall shew, 1. Who was created after God's image ; and
2. Wherein this image consisted.
First, I am to shew who was created after the image of God. It
was both the man and the woman, as is clear from the text. In
this respect, indeed, there was one thing wherein the man excelled
the woman, which is taken notice of by the apostle, 1 Cor. xi. 7-
' He is the image and glory of God ; but the woman is the glory of
the man.' Not but that the woman is the image of God in know-
ledge, righteousness, and holiness, as well as the man : but the man
is the image of God in respect of that authority which he has over
his wife, who is the glory of man in respect of her subjection to him.
So that what we say of the man as to his being created after the
divine image, must be understood of the woman too.
Secondly, I will shew wherein the image of God, in which our
first parents were made, consisted. Abstracting from the spirituality
of their souls, and the erect and graceful posture of their bodies,
peculiar to rational animals alone, which are but a faint shadow of
the image of God, (if they can with any propriety be called a sha-
dow of it at all), this image doth principally a# least shine in the
soul, and those glorious qualities wherewith man was endued, that
is, both the man and the woman.
1. The image of God, after which man was created, consisted in
knowledge, Col. i. 10. He was created wise : Not that he knew all
things, for that is proper to the omniscient Being alone ; but he was
ignorant of nothing that he was obliged to know ; he had all the
knowledge that was necessary for life and godliness. He had clear
and distinct apprehensions of God, his nature and perfections, far
superior to any knowledge of that kind that can now be acquired
by the most diligent and the most laboured researches of human
industry. And we can hardly suppose that he was ignorant of the
great mystery of the Trinity, considered abstractly ; as it was most
certainly the second person who appeared to and conversed with
him. This knowledge or wisdom of man appeared in his know-
ledge of the miraculous formation of Eve, whose nature and duty,
as well as his own towards her, he declares ; which he could not
182 OF THE CREATION OP MAN.
know but by a prophetical spirit. The primitive pair had God's
law written on their hearts, Rom. ii. 15. even that same law which
was afterwards written on tables of stone, and promulgated from
mount Sinai. It was concreated with them ; so that no sooner
were they man and woman, than they were knowing and intelligent
creatures, endued with all the knowledge necessary for their up-
right state. Adam's giving names to the beasts, and those such as
were expressive of their natures, Gen. ii. 19. was a great evidence of
his knowledge of nature. Thus his knowledge reached from the
sun, that glorious fountain of light, to the meanest glow-worm that
shines in the hedge. And that God gave them dominion over the
earth and all the inferior creatures, is an evidence that they were
endued with the knowledge of managing civil affairs, which a wise
man will manage with discretion.
2. The image of God consisted in righteousness, Eph. iv. 24.
There was a perfect conformity in his will to the will of God. He
was endued with a disposition to every good thing, Eccl. vii. 29.
' God made man upright.' His will was straight with God's will,
not bending to the right or left hand, without any irregular bias or
inclination. And he had full power and ability to fulfil the whole
law of God. As, in respect of knowledge, he perfectly knew the
whole extent of his duty, so he was created with sufficient powers
for the due performance thereof.
3. It consisted in holiness, Eph. iv. 24. Man's affections were
pure and holy, without being tinctured with any vitious appetite.
They were regular and orderly, free from all disorder and distemper.
They were set on ll^wful objects, and that in a right manner, loving
what God loved, and hating what he hated ; loving and delighting
in God with all his heart, strength, soul, and mind. Yet all this
happy disposition was mutable, he was not confirmed therein, nor
set beyond the reach of falling therefrom, as the event has mourn-
fully shewed.
This is that image of God wherein man was created, consisting in
original righteousness, where his reason was naturally subject to
God, his will to his reason, and his affections to his will, and con-
sequently all duly subordinated to God, and directed to him, with-
out any propensity or inclination to evil. A signal of this was,
that both our first parents were naked, and yet were not ashamed,
nor susceptive of shame.
That man was created in this condition, wise, altogether righte-
ous, and holy, is not only clear from the above-cited scriptures, but
is also agreeable to reason ; which suggests, that nothing impure or
imperfect, nothing having any vitious tendency or inclination, could
OF THE CREATION OP MAN. 183
proceed out of the hands of an holy God, who cannot be the author
of evil. Man was created after the image of God ; and in know-
ledge, righteousness, and true holiness, the scripture shews us, the
image of God consists. Moreover, God made all very good, Gen.
1. 31. Man's goodness consists in these excellent qualities ; and
without these he would not have been fit for the end of his creation.
How was it possible for him to have exercised the dominion he was
invested with over the creatures, or served his Creator in the man-
ner that became him without such endowments ? Hence I infer,
(1.) That man was not created in pure naturals, that is, with
bare faculties, neither good nor evil. For ' God made man up-
right,' Eccl. vii. 29.
(2.) That there was not naturally in man a combat betwixt the
flesh and the spirit, betwixt reason and appetite ; no inclination to
sin, no lustings of the flesh, or the inferior faculties of the soul.
For this corrupt will or inclination is sin properly and truly, as the
apostle shews, Rom. vii. 7- and the fountain of all sin. And to say,
that these dispositions were in man at his original formation, makes
God indeed the author of sin ; seeing he made (as they falsely pre-
tend) man of such matter as is necessarily accompanied with this
corrupt will and depraved inclination. For says the apostle, ' All
that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world,'
1 John ii. 16.
(3.) That original righteousness was natural to man, and not
supernatural in the primitive state. Natural it was, in so far as it
was concreated with him, and was necessary to»the perfection of
man as he came out of the creating hands of God; and was not
added to be as a bridle to his natural inclinations to evil, whereof
he had none.
(4.) That Adam had the same spiritual strength in innocency
wherewith now the regenerate do believe in Christ ; having a power
to do whatsoever God should command, and to believe whatever he
should reveal.
4. The image of God consisted consequently at least in dominion
over the inferior creatures, whereby he had a right to dispose of
them according to his pleasure, Gen. i. 26, 27- ; which was a re-
semblance of the supreme dominion of God over the creatures,
though not absolute and unlimited, but dependent on God. This
was evidenced by the beasts being brought to Adam, in token of
their subjection to him, and his imposing names on them expressive
of their natures and properties.
The image of God seated in man's spiritual and immortal soul,
184 OF THE CREATION OF MAN.
endued with understanding, will, and affections, shone forth also in
his body, which had a wonderful beauty in it, and such an admi-
rable contexture of parts, adapted to their several uses and ends, as
shewed it was intended for an immortal duration. There was no
blemish, defect, nor disease, to be found in him. He was not liable
to any attack by gout or gravel, or any tormenting pain. All the
humours of his body were in a just temperament and disposition,
calculated to prevent any distemper which might tend to the disso-
lution of that excellent constitution. His senses were all quick and
lively, able to perform with vigour and delight their several opera-
tions. He was immortal in this state ; and not subject to the
attacks of death. Though his body was composed of jarring ele-
ments, which had a natural tendency to dissolution, yet the soul
was endued with such virtue as to embalm the body, and preserve
it from the least degree of corruption. The tree of life was the
sacramental pledge of man's immortality. The erect figure of his
body looking towards heaven, and the majesty that is in his counte-
nance, shewed man to be the chief of the works of God in this
lower world.
I shall shut up all with a few inferences.
1. Ah ! how are we fallen from heaven ! "What a lamentable
change has sin brought on man ! It has defaced the moral image
of Grod, with which man's soul was beautifully decorated in his
primitive state, and rent in pieces that pleasant picture of himself
which God set up in this lower world. This stately fabric lies now
in ruins, and calls us to lament over its ruins with weeping eyes and
grieved hearts. Now there is ignorance in the mind, instead of that
knowledge of God and divine things, with which it was richly fur-
nished in its primitive state. The understanding, that as a lamp or
candle shone brightly, is now enveloped with darkness. The will,
that was exactly conformable to the will of God, and naturally dis-
posed to comply with every intimation thereof, is now filled with
irregularity, enmity, and rebellion against God and his law. The
aff'ections that were all regular, holy, and pure, are now disordered
and distempered, placed upon and eagerly bent towards improper and
sinful objects, loving and doating upon what men should hate, hating
what they should love, joying in what they ought to mourn for, glory-
ing in what is shameful, abhorring the chief good, and desiring what is
ruinous to them. All the members of the body that were subordinated
to the upright mind, and entirely at its command, are now in rebellion,
and mislead and enslave the mind and superior faculties. And the
creatures that were man's humble servants, ready to execute his com-
mands, are now risen up against him, and the least of them having
OP THE CREATIOIf OP MAN. 185
a commission, would prove more than a match for him. Nay, it is
with difficulty and much pains that any of them are brought to
engage in his service. Ah ! how dismal is man's case ! The crown
is fallen from our head : wo unto us that we have sinned. Let us
weep and mourn over our ruined state, and never rest till we get it
repaired by faith in the Lord Jesus, the great Repairer of this spiri-
tual breach.
2. How lovely are knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, wherein
the image of God consists ! They shine with a dazzling brightness,
and should charm and captivate our minds. But, alas ! by nature
we are blind, and see not their beauty and excellency. 0 ! let us
endeavour, through grace, to put off the old man, which is corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of
our minds, putting on the new man, which after God is created in
righteousness and true holiness. Try if this blessed change has
passed upon you, if ye be now light in the Lord, be disposed to do
his will, and are holy in heart and life. Study righteousness and
holiness if ye would be like God. And beware of ignorance, un-
righteousness, and impurity, which proceed from Satan, and make
you so unlike a righteous and holy God.
3. Come to the Lord Christ, who is the image of the invisible God,
and the beginning of the creation of God, who at first made man
after the divine image, and can make him so over again, and will do
so to those that come to him by faith, with this addition, that the
image of God which he will impress on the soul anew, shall never be
lost any more. 0 come to him now, that ye may become God's
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.
186 OP THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD.
OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD.
Matth. X. 29. — Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? and one of
them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
Our Lord is here encouraging his disciples against all the troubles
and distresses they might meet with in their way, and particularly
against the fear of men, by the consideration of the providence of
God, which reaches unto the meanest of things, sparrows and the
hairs of our head. Sparrows are of a mean price and small value ;
and yet, for as mean as they are, God preserves them, guides and
disposes of all things concerning them, so that one of them cannot
fall to the ground by shot or any other way, without his sovereign
ordering and disposal.
The instruction deducible from the text is,
DocT. * There is a providence that extends itself to the least of
things.
In discoursing from this doctrine, I shall,
I. Shew that there is a providence.
II. Consider its object.
III. Explain the acts thereof.
ly. Consider its properties.
V. Lastly, make improvement.
I. I am to shew that there is a providence. This appears,
1. From plain scripture-testimonies ; as Psal. ciii. 19. 'His king-
dom ruleth over all.' Acts xvii. 28. 'Inhim we live, and move, and
have our being,' Eph. i. 11. — 'Who worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will.' Providence is also held forth by a three-
fold scripture-emblem. Chiefly, (1.) Mount Moriah, which upon oc-
casion of the miraculous preservation of Isaac, and a ram to be put
in his room in order to be sacrificed, was called Jehovah Jieeh, i. e.
The Lord ivill provide, Gen. xxii. 14. (2.) Jacob's ladder, on which
God appears managing all things. Gen. xxviii. (3.) Ezekiel's wheels,
where there was a wheel in the middle of a wheel, denoting the
agency of the first cause, and the superintending and directing pro-
vidence of God, Ezek. i.
2. From the nature of God, who being independent, and the first
cause of all things, the creatures must needs depend upon him in
their being and working. He is the end of all things, wise, know-
ing how to manage all for the best ; powerful to efi'ectuate whatever
he has purposed ; and faithful to accomplish all he has decreed,
promised, or threatened.
OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. 187
3. From the harmony and order of the most confused things in
the world. Every thing appears to a discerning eye to be "wisely
ordered, notwithstanding the confusions that seem to take place.
What would become of the world, if there were not a providence
seeing men that despise all order, and would fain give loose reins to
their lusts and unbridled inclinations, are always the greatest party,
and would overpower and destroy the smaller and most virtuous
party ? Herein the truth of providence clearly appears. The ex-
traordinary judgments that have pursued and been inflicted upon
wicked men, and the remarkable deliverances that have been grant-
ed to the church and people of God in all ages, do loudly proclaim
a providence.
4. From the fulfilment of prophecies, which could not possibly be
without a providence to bring them to pass.
II. Let us, in the next place, consider the object of providence, or
that which it reacheth and extendeth to. And this is all the crea-
tures, and all their actions, Heb. i. 3. — ' Upholding all things by the
word of his power,' Psal. ciii. 19. 'His kingdom ruleth over all.'
The angels are subject to this providence, Neh. ix. 6. ' Thou, even
thou art Lord alone, thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens,
with all their host, the earth and all things that are therein, the
seas and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all, and the
host of heaven worshippeth thee.' So are also the devils, these in-
fernal spirits, Matth. viii. 31, 'If thou cast us out (said they to
Jesus), suffer us to go away unto the herd of swine.' It reacheth
natural things, as clouds, snow, winds, &c. as appears from Psal.
civ. cxlvii. and from daily observation. Casual things are ordered
by providence, as lots, Prov. xvi. 33. ' The lot is cast into the lap :
but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.' So in the case of
accidental manslaughter, Exod. xxi. 13. ' If a man lie not in wait,
and God deliver him into his hand.' There is nothing so mean but
providence extends to it, such as the falling of a sparrow, and the
numbering of the hairs of our head. It is God that feeds the fowls
and the young ravens that cry. He clothes the lilies and grass of
the field, that have no hand of man about them. He made lice,
frogs, &c. a plague to scourge Pharaoh and his people, worms to eat
up Herod, &;c. In a special manner providence is conversant about
man, forming him in the womb, ' Hast thou not poured me out as
milk (says Job), and curdled me like cheese ? Thou hast clothed
me with flesh and hast fenced me with bones and sinews,' Job x. 10,
11. — bringing him forth out of his mother's bowels, and holding him
up thereafter, Psal. Ixxi. 6. His heart is in the Lord's hand, and
all his thoughts and inclinations are under his coutroul, Prov. xxi. 1.
n2
188 OP THE PROVIDENCE OP GOD.
He directs and orders all his steps. The most free acts of the crea-
ture's will are governed by superintending providence. All their
good actions, John xv. 5. ' Without nie ye Can do nothing.' So also
their evil actions, Acts iv. 27, 28. ' For of a truth against thy holy
child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate,
with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to
be done,' Gen. xlv. 7- ' God sent me before you,' says Joseph to his
brethren, though they had wickedly sold hira into Egypt.
III. I proceed to consider the acts of providence. They are two,
preserving and governing the creatures and their actions.
1. God by his providence preserves all the creatures. This pre-
servation of the creatures is an act of providence, whereby they are
preserved in their being and power of acting, Heb. i. 3. ' Uphold-
ing all things by the word of his power.' In this God sometimes
makes use of means, and sometimes acts without means. AVe have
both described, Hos. ii. 21, 22. ' I will hear saith the Lord, I will
hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth, and the earth shall
hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil, and they shall hear Jez-
reel.' He preserves the heavens immediately, the earth, the corn,
the wine, and the oil, &c. mediately. And thus by his providence
he provides all things necessary for the preservation of all things ;
Psal. cxlv. 15, 16. ' The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest
them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satis-
fiest the desire of every living thing.' This act of providence is so
necessary, that nothing could subsist one moment without it. For
there is no necessary connexion betwixt the being of the creatures
this moment and their being the next; and as they could net give
themselves a being, so they cannot continue it, but must be upheld
by God as a ball in the air, Heb. i. 3. There is a continual efflux
of providence necessary for preserving and upholding the creatures
in their being, otherwise they would be independent, and could pre-
serve themselves, which is grossly absurd.
2. God does not only preserve the creatures, but governs and ma-
nages them, which is the second act of providence ; whereby he dis-
poses of all things, persons, and actions, according to his will, Prov.
xxi. 1. ' The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers
of water : he turneth it whithersoever he will, Prov. xvi. 33. ' The
lot is cast into the lap : but the whole disposing thereof is of the
Lord.' Chap. xvi. 9. ' A man's heart deviseth his way ; but the
Lord directeth his steps.' And this act of providence is also neces-
sary : for as the creature cannot be or exist without God, so neither
can it act without him, Acts xvii. 21. ' For in him we live, and
OF THE PROVIDEJrCE OF GOD. 189
move, and have our being.' God does not make man as the carpen-
ter doth the ship, which afterwards sails without him ; but he rules
and guides him, sitting at the helm, to direct and order all his mo-
tions : so that whatever men do, they do nothing without him : not
only in their good actions, where he gives grace, and excites it,
working in them both to will and to do of his good pleasure : but
also in their evil actions, wherein they are under the hand of Provi-
dence, but in a very different manner.
For understanding this j^oint, how the providence of God reach-
eth to and is concerned in sinful actions, we are to consider, that
God neither puts evil into the hearts of men, nor stirs them up to
it : for, says the apostle. Jam. i. 13. ' God cannot be tempted with
evil ; neither tempteth he any man.' And therefore he is not the
author of sin. But,
1. God permits sin, when he does not hinder it, which he is not
obliged to do. Not that it falls out so as he cannot hinder it, for he
is omnipotent, and can do all things ; nor yet as if he cared not
what fell out in the world ; but he does wisely, for his holy ends,
efficaciously will not to hinder it : Hence we read, Acts xiv. 16. that
' God in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.'
He does not permit sin, for that he will not violate or force the
creature's free will ; for God's providence offers no violence to the
will of the creature ; and if so, he should never hinder sin at all,
for the same reason. But certainly he has holy ends in the permis-
sion of sin : for thereby his justice, mercy, wisdom, and love, in
sending his Son to save sinners, do conspicuously appear, which
otherwise would have been under an eternal cloud, hid from the
view of n\en and angels.
For the further illustration of this doctrine relating to the con-
cern of providence in sinful actions, we are to consider them in a
twofold respect, as simple actions, or natural actions of the crea-
ture, abstract from any obliquity or deformity cleaving to them ;
and as actions having irregularity and pravity in them. Considered
as natural actions of the creature, they are all effected by the provi-
dence of God, which co-operates with, and enables the creature to
produce them, in such a manner that without the efflux of provi-
dence the creature could not move a hand or foot, or perform any
action whatever ; ' for in him we move :' ^ and no action of the
creature simply considered, or as a natural action, can be sinful, but
has a goodness of being in it, and is effected by the influence of pro-
vidence. As to the pravity or sin that is in actions, as God decreed
the futurition of sin, or permitted it to take place, and did not hinder
it J so all the sin or vitiosity that is in actions proceeds entirely from
n8
190 OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD.
the creature, and the evil lusts and passions that are in his heart.
Thus a man's taking up a stone, and throwing it, is a natural ac-
tion, which the providence of God enables him to perform ; hut his
throwing it at another man with an intention to kill him, is permit-
ted by God, otherwise it could not take place ; for if a hair cannot
fall from our head without the providence of God, much less can a
man be murdered without it : and the killing of the man by the
throwing of the stone, proceeds entirely from the malice and wick-
edness that was in the heart of the murderer, the operation of which
God did not hinder, which he is nowise obliged to do.
2. God leaves the sinner so far as he sees meet to the swing of
his own lusts, and denies him restraining grace. Thus it is said of
Hezekiah, a godly king, that, " in the business of the ambassadors
of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the "won-
der that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he
might know all that was in his heart," 2 Chron. xxxii. 31. And
when the restraint is taken oif the siuner, he runs furiously, to evil.
3. God bounds sin, and restrains men in their sins, as he does the
raging sea, allowing it to go so far, but no further. He has such
a power and command over wicked men, that they are not masters
of their own affections and dispositions, but many times act quite
contrary to what they had firmly resolved and proposed : as in the
case of Laban. He pursued Jacob, when he left Padan-aram, in
order to return into his own country, with a wicked intention to do
him hurt, by robbing him of his wives, children, and cattle ; but the
Lord restrained him, and influenced him to enter into a covenant of
friendship with the good patriarch, Gen. xxxii. Thus Esau had re-
solved on Jacob's death, and went out to meet him with a purpose
to destroy him ; but when providence brought them together, it is
said, " Esau embraced Jacob, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."
Thus Balaam came with an express intention to curse Israel, and
yet he fell a blessing them. Thus he bent the hearts of the Egyp-
tians to favour the Isradites, so that they sent them away with
great riches, by lending them jewels of silver and jewels of gold,
and costly garments. Thus, by a secret instinct, he turned Jehosh-
aphat's enemies away from him, when they came with a purpose to
destroy him, 2 Chron. xviii. 31.; and at another time he turned his
enemies against themselves, so that they sheathed their swords in
one another's bowels, 2 Chron. xx. Thus also he restrained the sol-
diers that broke the legs of the two thieves that were crucified with
Christ, from touching his, in -order to accomplish his word, that a
bone of the paschal lamb, which was a type of Christ, the Lamb of
God, should not be broken. So true is that saying of the Psalmist,
OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. 191
Psal. Ixxvi. 10. ' Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee : the
j-emainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.' God has a bridle in the
mouths of wicked men, when they are under the most impetuous
fury of their lusts, to turn them as he will, restraining and curbing
in respect of some, and giving swing to others.
4. Lastly, God over-rules all to a good end. God has one end in
wicked actions, and the sinner another. The sinner minds and in-
tends evil, but God means and designs good by them all. So
Joseph's brethren, in their cruelly selling him for a slave, meant
evil to the poor youth ; but God, in that dispensation meant it
for good, and brought much good out of it to Joseph, and his
father and brethren. Thus the Jews crucified Christ out of malice
against him; but God by that crucifixion intended satisfaction to
his justice for the sins of men, and the redemption and salvation of
an elect world. Thus God brings good, the greatest good out of
the worst of evils. What greater evil or more atrocious wicked-
ness can be imagined, than the violent death of the innocent Son of
God, who went about doing good, and was holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners ? and yet what a rich and astonishing good
resulted therefrom, even glory to God, and peace and good-will to-
wards men !
lY. Our next business is to consider the properties of divine pro-
vidence.
1. God's providence is most holy, Psal. cxlv. 17- ' The Lord is
righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.' Even though
providence reach to and be conversant in sinful actions, yet it is
pure ; as the sun contracts no defilement, though it shine on a dung-
hill. For God is neither the physical nor moral cause of the evil
of any action, more than he who rides on a lame horse is the cause
of his halting. All the evil that is in sinful actions proceeds and
flows from the wicked agent, as the stench of the dunghill does not
proceed from the heat of the sun, but from the corrupt matter con-
tained in the dunghill.
2. It is most wise, Isa. xxviii. 29. ' This cometh forth from the
Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in work-
ing.' Infinite wisdom always proposes the most excellent ends in
all its operations, and uses the best methods for accomplishing its
ends. However perplexed confused, and void of wisdom providen-
tial administrations may appear to us poor mortals of narrow, shal-
low capacities, yet they are the result of the highest wisdom and
the deepest counsel, as proceeding from and directed by him whose
name is the only wise God, and cannot but manage all things with
the greatest understanding. And the day will at last come when it
192 OF THE PROVIDENCE OP GOD.
shall be said by the united voice of the whole assembly and church
of the first-born, that God hath done all things well : and then the
plan of providence will appear in every respect to have been most
wise, harmonious and consistent.
3. Providence is most powerful. Hence the Lord says to Sen-
nacherib, the king of Assyria ' I will put my hook in thy nose, and
my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by
which thou earnest,' 2 Kings xix. 28. ' The king's heart is in the
hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water : he turneth it whitherso-
ever he will.' "Who can resist his will which is almighty ? He can
never fail of his end, but all things fall out according to his decree,
which is efficacious and irresistible.
I shall conclude with an use of exhortation.
1. Beware of drawing an excuse for your sin from the providence
of God ; for it is most holy, and has not the least efficiency in any
sin you commit. Every sin is an act of rebellion against God ; a
breach of his holy law, and deserves his wrath and curse; and
therefore cannot be authorised by an infinitely-holy God, who is of
purer eyes than to behold iniquity without detestation and abhor-
rence. Though he has by a pei-missive decree allowed moral evil to
be in the world, yet that has no influence on the sinner to commit
it. For it is not the fulfilling of God's decree, which is an absolute
secret to every mortal, but the gratification of their own lusts and per-
verse inclinations, that men intend and mind in the commission of sin.
2. Beware of murmuring and fretting under any dispensations of
providence that ye meet with ; remembering that nothing falls out
without a wise and holy providence, which knows best what is fit
and proper for you. And in all cases, even amidst the most afflict-
ing incidents that befal you, learn submission to the will of God ;
as Job did, when he said, in consequence of a train of the heaviest
calamities that happened to him, ' The Lord gave, and the Lord
hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord,' Job i. 2L In
the most distressing case say with the disciples, ' The will of the
Lord be done,' Acts xxi. 14.
3. Beware of anxious cares and diffidence about your through-
bearing in the world. This our Lord has cautioned his followers
against, Matth. vi. 31. ' Take no thought (that is, anxious and per-
plexing thought), saying, "What shall we eat ? or. What shall we
drink ? or, "Wherewithal shall we be clothed ?' Never let the fear
of man stop you from duty, Matth. x. 28, 29. ; but let your souls
learn to trust in God, who guides and superintends all the events
and administrations of providence, by whatever hands they are
performed.
THE WISE OBSERVATION OF PROVIDENCES URGED. 193
4. Do not slight means, seeing God worketh by them ; and he
that hath appointed the end oi'ders the means necessary for gaining
the end. Do not rely upon means, for they can do nothing without
God, Matth. iv. 4. Do not despond if there be no means, for God
can work without them, as well as with them ; Hos. i. 7- 'I will
save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor
by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.' If the means
be unlikely, he can work above them, Rom. iv. 19. ' He considered
not his own body now dead, neither yel the deadness of Sarah's
womb.' If the means be contrary, he can work by contrary means,
as he saved Jonah by the whale that devoured him. That fish
swallowed up the prophet, but by the direction of providence, it
vomited him out upon dry land.
5. Lasthj, Happy is the people Avhose God the Lord is : for all
things shall work together for their good. They may sit secure in
exercising faith upon God, come what will. They have ground for
prayer ; for God is a prayer-hearing God, and will be inquired of
by his people as to all their concerns in the world. And they have
ground for the greatest encouragement and comfort amidst all the
events of providence, seeing they are managed by their covenant
God and gracious friend, who will never neglect or overlook his
dear people, and whatever concerns them. For he hath said, ' I
will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,' Heb. xiii. 5.
THE WISE OBSERVATION OF PROVIDENCES ILLUSTRATED AND
ENFORCED.
PsAL. cvii. 43. — Whoso is ivise, and tvill observe these things, even they
shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord.
Whosoever would walk with God, must be due observers of the
word and providence of God, for by these in a special manner he
manifests himself to his people. In the one we see what he says ;
in the other what he does. These are the two books that every
student of holiness ought to be much conversant in. They are both
written with one hand, and they should both be carefully read, by
those that would have not only the name of religion, but the thing.
They should be studied together, if we would profit by either ; for
being taken together, they give light the one to the other ; and as
it is our duty to read the word, so it is also our duty to observe the
work of God, Psal. xxviii. 5. The one I formerly recommended ;
and I am now to press the other, as a proper addition to our late
194 THE WISE OBSERVATION
discourse on the providence of God, from the text now read.
Wherein we have two things.
1. The obsei-ving of providences recommended, Whoso is wlte, 8f''.
In the Hebrew it runs, Wlio is wise, and will observe these things.
Wherein we may observe,
1st, The duty itself recommended, observing these things. Where
we are to consider the act and the object.
(1.) The object these things ; that is, the dispensations of provi-
dence. These are the things the Psalmist would have men to ob-
serve. For the design of this psalm is to praise God for his won-
derful works of providence in the world, especially in the church.
For this cause he sets before us, (1.) Wonderful deliverances
wrought by providence, instanced in the seasonable relief given to,
(1.) Needy and bewildered strangers, far from their own, ver. 3. — 9.
(2.) Captives and prisoners, ver. 10, — 16. (3.) Sick people at the
gates of death, ver. 17- — 22. (4.) To seafaring men in a storm,
ver. 23. — 32. (2.) Strange and surprising changes in human
affairs. (1.) Fruitful places made barren, and barren places fruit-
ful, ver. 33. — 35. For an instance of which we need but consider this
our own country, sometime a forest, for little use but to be a hunt-
ing-field, now comfortably maintaining many families, and useful to
the nation by its great store. (2.) Mean families raised by a bless-
ing on their husbandry and store, and cast down again from their
prosperity by cross providences, ver. 36. — 39. (3.) Those that were
high in the world abased, and those that were mean and despicable
raised to honour, ver. 40, 41. These turns of providence are of use
to solace saints, and silence sinners, ver. 42. Now, here is a field
opened for serious observation. These and such like things we are
called to notice.
(2.) The act, observation. We must not let providences pass
without remark, but observe them carefully, as men that are neither
fools nor atheists, but have eyes in their heads, and do not think
the world is guided by blind chance, but by an infinitely wise God.
The word signifies to take heed, and retain, as a watchman in a
city does. We must take heed to them as they fall out, and care-
fully keep them in mind, that they be not forgot, or slip out of our
minds.
2dli/, The qualification necessary to fit a man for this duty, luis-
dom. This is true spiritual wisdom ; for in scripture language all
strangers to serious godliness are accounted fools, however sharp-
sighted otherwise they be. As for others, they neither will nor can
rightly observe these things.
ddlt/, The manner of the expression. It intimates, (1.) That
OF PROVIDENCES URGED,
195
there are few so wise as to observe providences. Most part of the
world are stupid on that point ; they let them go and come without
notice, Jer. ix. 12, (2,) That those who are truly wise will do it,
Hos. xiv. ult.
2. The advantage accruing from a wise observation of providences.
They shall understand thereby the loving-kindness, goodness, and
mercy of God, written out in his dispensations towards themselves
and others ; as we know how one stands affected to us by his be-
haviour towards us. His works will give us a clearer discovery of
his glorious perfections ; and these observations will enrich us with
experiences. It is remarkable that some of these things are cross
providences ; yet a right observation of them will shew us God's
kindness ; for the divine goodness may be seen in cross providences
as well as in favourable ones.
From the text I shall only observe one doctrine at present.
DocT. " It is the duty of Christians wisely to observe providences."
This is a weighty point in practical religion, that requires obser-
vation in speaking to it, and practising it.
In discoursing from this doctrine, I shall shew,
I. What it is to observe providences wisely.
II. "What are the objects about which we are to make our obser-
vations. •
III. What we are to observe in them.
IV. The reasons why Christians should wisely observe providences.
V. Make some practical improvement.
I. I am to shew what it is to observe providences wisely. It pre-
supposes some things, and imports some things.
First, It presupposes these four things.
1. That there is a providence. The world is not managed by for-
tune, nor do things fall out by blind chance. That there is a God,
and that there is a providence, have been always looked on by men
of sound judgment as certain maxims, establishing one another.
And indeed to set up the creatures to act otherwise than under the
providence of God, is to set them up for independent beings, that is,
for gods. The scripture is plain that it reacheth all things, Rom.
xi. 36. ' For of him, and through him, and to him are all things ;'
even from the greatest to the least, as ye will see from Mat. x. 29.
30, 31. * Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ; and one of them
shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very
hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not, therefore, ye
are of more value than many sparrows.' And unless it were so,
how could he foresee and foretel things, Isa. xlvi. 10.
Some think this would disturb his rej)ose, and is unworthy of him,
196 THE WISE OBSERVATION
and his purity and wisdom. But do not these atheists see the sun
in the heavens undisturbed, with his (yet) universal influence, shine
on the dunghill as well as the garden, without contracting any spot ?
And is it unworthy of God to govern what he has created ? As for
the wisdom in the management of the world, they are fools who
judge it folly before they see the end.
2. The faith of this providence. We must believe the doctrine
of providence, if we would be wise observers thereof. The faith of
the saints in this point may be shaken in an hour of temptation ;
as was the case with Asaph, Psal. Ixxiii. 13, 14, 15. ' Verily (says
he) I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in in-
nocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened
every morning. If I say, I will speak thus ; behold, I should
offend against the generation of thy childi"en.' And the unbelief of
others therein makes them half atheists, Mai. iii. 14, 15. ' Ye have
said, it is vain to serve God : and what profit is it, that we have
kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the
Lord of hosts ? And now we call the proud happy ; yea, they that
work wickedness are set up ; yea, they that tempt God are even de-
livered.' And the slender belief there is of it in the world makes
men overlook providence, Hab. i. 16. 'Therefore they sacrifice unto
their net, and burn incense unto their drag : because ♦y them their
portion is fat and their meat plenteous.' Labour ye firmly to be-
lieve providence, that ye may observe it ; nay, believe it, and ye
will observe it.
3. Providence has a language to the children of men. It is a
clear part of the name of God whereby he manifests himself to the
world, and has served to convince men of his eternal power and
Godhead, whom no other arguments could reach: Dan. iv. ult. ' Now
I Nebuchadnezzar praise, and extol, and honour the King of hea-
ven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment, and those
that walk in pride he is able to abase.' Psal. xix. 3, 4. ' There is
no speech, nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line
is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the
world.' Rods have a language, Micah vi. 9. ' The Lord's voice
crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name :
hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.' And so also have
mercies a language, Rom. ii. 4. ' Not knowing that the goodness of
God leadeth thee to repentance.' And providences being the work
of a rational agent, they must have a design.
4. A disposition to understand the language and design of pro-
vidence. It is for this end they are observed wisely, Micah vi. 9.
forecited. God speaks by providence, and the wise hearken by ob-
OF PROVIDENCES URGED. 197
servation, that tliey may know what is meant by those characters,
in which God writes his mind towards them. Hence the more one
pursues communion with God, he will the more narrowly observe
providence ; and when he grows remiss and negligent as to com-
munion with God, he lets these things easily pass. But these are
the prints of the Lord's feet, which one walking with God will set
himself to observe.
Secondly, To observe providences wisely, imports these five things.
1. A watching for them till they come. Hence says the prophet,
Hab. ii. 1. 'I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower,
and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall
answer when I am reproved.' This is to wait on the Lord in the
way of his judgments, Isa. xxvi. 8. A practice necessarily fol-
lowing on the serious practice of godliness, in laying matters before
the Lord by prayer, and depending on him according to his word,
Psal. cxxx. 1. 5, 6. ' Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, 0
Lord. I wait for the Lord, and my soul doth wait, and in his word
do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord, more than they that
watch for the morning : I say more, than they that watch for the
morning.' Some providences have a glaring light with them, that
cannot but strike the eye of the beholder ; but others not being so
may pass unobserved, if people be not on their watch. Providence
sometimes works long under ground, and wraps itself up in a long
night of darkness ; but the wise observer Avill wait the dawning of
the day, and the setting up its head above ground, Psal. Ixix. 3.
* Mine eyes fail while I wait for my God,' Lam. iii. 49, 50. ' Mine
eye trickleth down and ceaseth not, without any intermission : till
the Lord look down, and behold from heaven.' For they that be-
lieve will not make haste.
2. A taking heed to them, and marking them when they come,
Isa. XXV. 9. ' Lo this is our God, we have waited for him, and he
will save us : this is the Lord, we have waited for him, we will be
glad and rejoice in his salvation.' Heeding them, I mean, as from
the hand of the Lord ; for though men heed the thing, if they do
not heed the hand it comes from, they have but the carcase without
the soul of providences. The threads of providence are sometimes
so small and fine, and our senses so little exercised to discern, that
they may come and go without our notice, Luke xix. 44. ' Thou
knewest not the time of thy visitation.' Therefore the eyes of the
wise man are in his head, to observe what comes from heaven; look-
ing aforehand, and in the time ; for he that looks sees, Ezek. i. 15,
Zech. vi. 1.
3. A serious review of them, pondering and narrowly considering
198 THE WISE OBSERVATION
thera. We should not only look to them, but into them, Psal. cxi.
2. ' The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that
have pleasure therein.' And the more we see of them, the more of
God we will see in them ; for the further we wade in these waters,
the deeper. Providence is a wheel within a wheel, a piece of the
nice workmanship of heaven, which may make us cry out with won-
der many a time, 0 ivheell Ezek. x. 13. The design of providence
ofttimes lies hid, not to he seen at first view ; but we must look
again and again, and narrowly inspect it, ere we can comprehend it.
Tt is a mystery many times, looking at which our weak eyes will begin
to dazzle. And that we may unravel the clue by a sanctified judg-
ment, Psal. Ixxvii. 6. it will be needful to call in the help of prayer,
with much humility, faith, and self-denial. Job x. 2. and of the
scripture, Psal. Ixxiii. 16.
4. Laying them up, and keeping them in record, Luke i. 66, "We
should keep them as one would do a treasure, for the time to come.
Then are they experiences, which will be notable provision for after-
times. 0, if these observations were wisely made, and carefully
laid up, the former part of our life might furnish noble helps for
the latter part of it ; and the longer we lived, the richer would we
be in this spiritual treasure : even as in war one victory helps to
get another. And the old disciple might have a body of practical
experimental divinity in his head, drawn forth from his own obser-
vation. "We find David, when young, improving providences for-
merly thus observed, 1 Sam. xvii. 37. ' The Lord that delivered me
out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will
deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine ;' and when old doing
the same, Psal. xxxvii. 25. ' I have been young, and now am old :
yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging
bread.'
5. Lastly, It is a practical observation of them. They who ob-
serve providences wisely do not observe them only to clear their
judgments, and inform their understandings, as by matters of spec-
ulation ; but to influence their hearts and affections in the conduct
of their life, Micah vi. 9. The more that one wisely observes provi-
dence, he will be the more holy. The observing the work of provi-
dence about himself and others, will advance the work of grace in
the heart, and holiness in the life, Rom. v. 4. ' Patience worketh
experience ; and experience hope,' Psal. Ixiv. 7, 9. ' God shall shoot
at them with an arrow, suddenly shall they be wounded. And all
men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God ; for they shall
wisely consider his doing.' It is a woful observation of provi-
dence, when it has no good effect on people to make them better.
OF PROVIDENCES URGED. 199
Hence Moses says to the Israelites, Deut. xxix. 2, 3, 4. ' Ye have
seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt,
unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land ; the
great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs and those
great miracles : yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to per-
ceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.' But it is
yet worse when people are made worse thereby, as in the case of
him who said, ' Behold this evil is of the Lord, what ! should I wait
for the Lord any longer ?' 2 Kings vi. 33. But it is a kindly ef-
fect of it when men accommodate their spirits to the divine dispen-
sations they are under, according to that, Eccl. vii. 14. ' In the
day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider.'
II. I come now to speak of the objects about which we are wisely
to make our observations, ih^se things. This is a spacious field, as
broad as the universe, or the whole creation, so far as we come to
the knowledge any manner of way of the works of God. For pro-
vidence reacheth to all things, and in every thing the finger of God
is to be seen. None of all God's works of providence laid open to
our view are excepted, nor allowed to be overlooked, Psal. xxviii. 5.
And all of them may be profitably noticed. But more particularly,
I shall offer you a sample of the admirable web of providence ; a
sample, I say, for how small a part of his ways do we know ? The
dispensations of providence may be considered,
1. With respect to their objects.
2. "With respect to their kinds.
3. With respect to the time of their falling out.
FIRST, Providences may be considered with respect to their ob-
jects, which are all the creatures and all their actions. And here
let us.
First, Look into the invisible world, and trace providence a
little there. It becomes Christians to cause their eye to follow
there where God's hand is before them at work. David tells us,
Psal. cxxxix. 8. ' If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there : if I
make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.' God is there with
his hand of providence, ver. 10. ' Even there shall thy hand lead
me, and thy right hand shall hold me.' And the apostle gives the
Christian that character, 2 Cor. iv. 18. that * he looks not at the
things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.'
First, Look to the lower part of that world, the kingdom of dark-
ness, and there you see devils and damned spirits of men, with the
providence of God about them in an awful manner. A fearful web
of providence encompasses them.
1. Concerning devils, view the awful providences they are under,
and observe,
200 THE WISE OBSERVATION
(1.) How these once glorious creatures are now irrecoverably lost,
and reserved to a certain and dreadful judgment, 2 Pet. ii. 4. Jude
6. Behold and learn the severity of God's justice from this his
work ; how no natural excellency Avill preserve the creature from
wrath when once defiled with sin. They were the first that ven-
tured to break over the hedge of the holy law, and. God set them up
for dreadful examples to the whole creation. Behold the power of
God, whose hands devils themselves cannot rid themselves out of.
And understand the loving-kindness of the Lord, in providing a
Saviour for man, and not for them, Heb. ii. 16.
(2.) How, notwithstanding, these malicious creatures are not so
pent up in their prison, but they are permitted to go about through
the world ; yet this world is generally inhabited without molesta-
tion from them. Only now and then, in some very rare cases, they
are suffered to molest men, by a particular providential permission
as in the case of Job, chap. ii. This general case of the world is a
continued wonder of providence. How is it that ever we get any
rest from them in house or field ? It is not for want of will or
natural power, but from the restraint of providence upon them,
continued upon them, notwithstanding the world's wickedness. Ob-
serve this thankfully, and understand the loving-kindness of the
Lord.
2. Concerning damned spirits, who are in hell under the wrath of
God, see the awful providences about them, and observe how miser-
able they are, Luke xvi. 23. being ' punished from the presence of
the Lord,' 2 Thess. i. 9. all hopes of recovery being now lost for
ever. And learn how precious time is, that what we have to do, ye
may do quickly : how deceitful sin and the world are ; and how
severely God punishes at length, though he may long bear with sin-
ners. And understand the loving-kindness of the Lord, that ye are
yet in the land of the living, under means of grace, and hopes of
glory.
Secondly, Look to the upper part of the invisible world, the
regions of bliss ; and there you will see angels and the spirits of
just men made perfect wrapt up in a glorious Aveb of providence,
sparkling with goodness and mercy. See the Larger Catechism on
Providence.
Concerning the blessed angels, observe,
1. How they are established in holiness and happiness, 1 Tim. v.
21. They were of the same changeable nature with those that fell ;
but God held them up, and has confirmed them, that they cannot
fall now. And learn the power of sovereign grace, which can esta-
blish one tottering creature when another falls ; and how happy
OF PROVIDENCES URGED. 201
they are who cheerfully do the will of God, for so the angels do in
hearen. Though proud shining hypocrites fall away and perish, yet
trembling saints shall be made to stand.
2. How they are employed in the administration of his power,
mercy, and justice, 2 Kings xix. 35. In one night the angel of the
Lord smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and
five thousand, Heb. i. 14. * Are they not all ministering spirits, sent
forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation ?' God
sends them-to take care of his children, who no doubt receive many
benefits off their hands, which they are not sensible of. Understand
the loving-kindness of the Lord in sending them, and their love to
God and man in taking such employment. The living creatures
have the wheels going by them.
Concerning the souls of the blessed, observe how blessed and
happy they are in the enjoyment of God, where no clouds interpose
betwixt them and the light of his countenance, Heb. xii. 23. Luke
xvi. 22. And learn here what a vain thing this world is, and how
we may be happy without it, yea cannot be completely happy till
we be beyond it. What a rich harvest the seed of grace in the soul
brings in, and how holiness leads the way to complete happiness.
Wonderful is the loving-kindness of the Lord, that takes those who
serve him here, to be his attendants in his palace and brings them
to the full enjoyment of himself in glory.
Let this suffice for a sample of providence in the invisible world.
Secondly, Look to the visible world, and trace providence there.
See how the hand of the Lord is constantly at work about these his
creatures which he has made, John v. 17. * My Father worketh
hitherto, and I work.'
1. Consider the inanimate or lifeless creatures, which are the ob-
jects of providence as well as other things. They are not capable
of self-governing, but he that made them guides them to their ends.
The heavenly bodies, sun, moon, and stars, are under the govern-
ment of wise providence. They got their orders at first. Gen. i. 16.
' God made two great lights ; the greater light to rule the day, and
the lesser light to rule the night : he made the stars also.' And
they have still observed these orders .since. Psal. civ. 19. 'He ap-
pointeth the moon for seasons : the sun knoweth his going down.'
Sometimes indeed by a particular commission, they have altered
their ordinary course as in Joshua's time, chap. x. 12, 13, when the
sun stood still upon Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon,
for a whole day ; but they returned to their course again. The sun
keeps his course allotted liiiu by the divine decree ; for should he go
at random, our eartl^ would either be burnt or quite frozen up, that
o
202 THE WISE OBSEKVATION
we could not live on it. 0 the loving-kindness of the Lord, that
makes the very heavenly bodies punctually to keep pace with our
necessities, and has not avenged himself oil men's disorders, by suf-
fering these to go into disorder and confusion !
The raging sea is under the management of providence. God
manages it as easily as the nurse does the infant, whom she swaddles
and lays in its cradle, from whence it cannot get out, while she will
have it to stay there ; Job xxxviii. 11. 'Hitherto shalt thou come
(says Providence to this unruly element), but no farther.; and here
shall thy proud waves be stayed.' 0 look to his work and learn
his loving-kindness, Psal. civ. 24, 25, 26. ' 0 Lord, how manifold
are thy works ! in wisdom hast thou made them all : the earth is
full of thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things
creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. There go the
ships ; there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play there-
in.' Behold his greatness, and adore him, Matth. viii. 27. ' What
manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him ?'
Fear before such a mighty One, Isa. xxviif. 2. And let it quiet
your hearts under all the tossings ye meet with in the world ; for it
will cost him but to say, ' Peace and be still ;' Psal. xciii. 4. ' The
Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than
the mighty waves of the sea.'
The air and wind, which no man can lay hold of, are entirely
under the conduct of Providence, John iii. 8. ' The wind bloweth
where it listeth,' in respect of man ; but in respect of God, where he
listeth, Matth. viii. 27. forecited. "What a wonder is it, (not to
speak of tempests, hail, rain, snow, &c. Psal. cxlvii. 15. — 18), that
such a thin invisible body should bear up all the fowls of the air,
the heavy clouds also, and carry them from place to place, s6 that
we may say, as Psal. xviii. 10. ' He rode upon a cherub, and did
fiy ; yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind ! How then can our
God be at a loss for means to support us ? He has filled the world
with it ; it is about us, in us, in our nostrils, in our bowels, nay, in
every pore of our bodies ; yea, without it we could not breathe, yet
we see it not. Shall we then think it strange, that the God who
made it is every where present ? Nay, he is without and within us,
though we see him not. If he mix pestilential vapours with it, we
are dead men, as if poison were mixed with our drink : for at every
breathing we draw it in; so entirely do we depend on the Lord.
0 then understand the loving-kindness of the Lord in this respect.
The earth is under the care and government of the same wise
Providence. He made it, and that was a great work. ; he preserves
it and governs it, and that is another. He supports it, Heb. i. 3.
OF PROVIDEN^CES URGED. 203
The earth bears us, but what bears the earth ? You cannot think
it is infinite or boundless, and therefore it must have another side
opposite to that we are on. Yes, and by the powerful providence
of God it hangs like a ball in the air. Job xxvi. 7- ' He hangeth the
earth upon nothing.' 0 then, is there any thing too hard for our
God to do ? He fills it with his riches, the surface of it, and the
bowels of it, Psal. civ. 24. But what is most necessary for men's
use is on the surface of it, easiest to be come at, Job xxviii. He
feeds it, that it may feed us. Dent. xi. 11. Hos. ii. 21, 22. When
the strength thereof is weakened with new influences from the hea-
veus, he renews it, Psal. civ. 30. And since the flood, the promise
then given. Gen. viii. 22. that ' while the earth remaineth, seed-
time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day
and night shall not cease,' has been punctually performed. 0 un-
derstand the loving-kindness of the Lord in these things, what a
gracious and bountiful God he is ! And learn how surely all his
promises to his people shall be accomplished.
2. Consider the A'egetative part of the world, things that have
life, but not sense, such as trees, plants, &c. how Providence cares
for and manages them. Our Lord calls us to observe these things,
and thereby understand the loving-kindness of the Lord, Matth. vi.
28. ' Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow : they toil not,
neither do they spin.' Lilies of the field have not the care of man
about them, as those of the garden, but Providence cares for them.
This teaches us to lay by anxiety, and trust God, ver. 30. See how
the earth is kindly furnished with vegetables by providence, not
only for men's necessity, but their conveuiency and delight, Psal.
civ. 14, — 17. And shall ^ot this good -God be loved and cheerfully
gerved by us ? Every pile of grass is a preacher of the loving-kind-
ness of the Lord.
3. Consider the sensitive part of the world, such as have life and
sense, but not reason ; as birds, beasts, and fishes. And observe
what a vast family are maintained on the Creator's cost. And
though we cannot trust providence, yet what an innumerable com-
pany there is of dependents on mere providence ! Psal. civ. 27.
' These all wait upon thee ; that thou niayest give them their meat
in due season.' Observe this provision, and thence learn to believe
even where ye cannot see, Matth. vi. 26, ' Behold the fowls of the
air : for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ;
yet your heavenly father feedeth them. Are ye not much better
than they ?' For Providence does for them that have none to do
for them; Psal. cxlvii. 9. 'He giveth to the beast his food, and to
the young raA'cns that cry.' Observe how providence has subjected
o2
204 THE WISE OBSERVATION
them to man as servants that could easily be his masters in respect
of strength, as the horse, ox, &c. yet the face of man strikes a damp
upon them, which is the more remarkable, that man by sin did for-
feit his dominion over the creatures. But this must be resolved
into the virtue of that word, executed daily by providence, Gen. ix.
2. ' The fear of you, and the dread of you, shall be upon every
beast of the earth, arid upon every fowl of the air, upon all that
moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea.' 0 what
a power is in a word of divine appointment ?
4. Consider the rational part of the world, men having life, sense,
and reason. In these providence sheAys itself most brightly. Man
is the compend of the creation, having a spirit as angels are spirits,
and a body with the rest. And he is the peculiar care of Heaven.
This is the main object of our observation.
1st, We should observe the dispensations of providence to\yards
societies ; and the nearer our relation to them be, we should observe
them the more narrowly.
(1.) Towards societies of men in the world, kingdoms, churches,
congregations, families, &c.
[1.] Much of the power, wisdom, goodness, justice, &c. of God,
might be learned from the revolutions and changes in states and
kingdoms, which should make us inquisitive for the knowledge of
public affairs. And 0 what a glorious scene of providence has been
opened of late in Britain, shining with illustrious mercy to the
church and nation, in delivering us when at the brink of ruin ;
depth of wisdom, in baffling in a moment the cunning projects of
enemies ; almighty power, in so easily crushing their towering
hopes ; radiant justice, in making the ^tone tumble down on the
heads of those that rolled it, and making enquiry for the blood of
the saints shed many years ago.*
[2.] Providences toward the church of God are mainly to be ob-
served, 1 Sam. iv. 13. The angels themselves notice these, to learn
something from them, Eph. iii. 10. "What concerns the church is
the greatest work on the wheel of providence ; and in most, if not
all the great works of God through the world, he has in them an
eye to his church. As she is for God, so other things are for her.
Particularly we should observe the way of providence towards
the church of Scotland, whereof we are members ; which has been
as admirable a mixture of mercy and judgment, as perhaps any
church since the apostles days has met with. How high has she
* This refers to the suppression of the rebellion in 1715. This part of the subject
was preached in December 1716.
OF PROVIDENCES URGED. 205
been raised in peace and purity, and how low laid at other times !
How often has she been at the brink of ruin, and wonderfully pre-
served ? How have her faithful friends been signally owned of God,
and her enemies often borne the evident marks of God's displeasure !
&c. And yet, more particularly,
We should observe the way and aspect of providence towards the
congregation, how the Lord has been and is dealing with us, that
we may accommodate ourselves to his dispensations, and answer the
call of them.
[3.] Towards families. Sometimes the Lord causes a warm sun-
shine of prosf)erity on families, and sometimes the heavens are
louring above them ; they have their risings and fallings, as all
other societies in this changeable world, as is beautifully described
by the Psalmist, Psal. cvii. 38, 39, 41. 'He blesseth them also, so
that they are multiplied greatly, and suifereth not their cattle to
decrease. Again they are minished and brought low through op-
pression, affliction, and sorrow. Yet setteth he the poor on high
from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.' How does
Job mournfully observe the way of providence with his family,
chap. xxix. 2. — 5. and David on his death-bed the humbling circum-
stances of his ! 2 Sam. xxiii. 5.
There are few of our families but God has of late one way or
other visited them ; his voice has cried to our houses, as well as to
the land. It is our duty to observe the same, read the language of
it, and comply with the design thereof.
2dli/ Towards particular persons ; for we may learn something
from God's way with every one. And,
(1.) Towards others, whether godly or wicked. This was the
Psalmist's practice to have his eyes in his head, and to look about
him in the world, and learn something for his own establishment,
both from the harms and happiness of others, Psal. xxxvii. 35. — 37.
' I have seen the wicked in great power ; and spreading himself like
a green bay-tree. Tet he passed away, and lo, he was not ; yea, I
sought him, but he could not be found. Mai'k the perfect man, and
behold the upright : for the end of that man is peace.' It is ob-
servable, that the holy scripture is not written as a system of pre-
cepts, with the reasons of them ; but the body of it is a cluster of
examples, wherein we may see, as in a glass, what we are to follow
if we would be happy, and what we are to shun, Rom. xv. 4. ' For
whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our
learning.' A plain evidence, that whoso would please God, must
observe those things that are set before his eyes in providence.
(2.) Towards ourselves in particular. These providences come
o3
206 THE WISE OBSEKVATION
nearest us, and tlierefore sliould be most narrowly observed. lu
these we are the parties to whom God directs his speech imme-
diately ; but, alas ! often it is not observed, Job xxxiii. 14. ' For
God speaketh ouce, yea twice, but man perceiveth it not.' There is
none of us that are not the objects of wonderful providences, but
especially true Christians, who may well say, as Psal. xl. 5. ' Many,
0 Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done,
and thy thoughts which are to us-ward : they cannot be reckoned
up in order unto thee : If I would declare and speak of them, they
are more than can be numbered.' We might each of us fill a
volume with accounts of the wonderful works of Go(f, and yet con-
fine ourselves to what has happened to ourselves, if we had but the
wisdom to observe the same. Every moment we would be a wonder
to ourselves, if we could but discern the beautiful mixture of that
web of providence wherein every moment we are wrapt up.
(1.) Let us observe how we are powerfully preserved by Provi-
dence, Heb. i. 3. Psal. xxxvi. 6. ' Lord, thou preservest man and
beast.' "When we consider how unlike our souls are to our bodies,
we may more wonder at the continuance than the breach of that
union. Wheu we thiuk how death has as many gates to come in
by, as our body has pores, how the seeds of a thousand diseases are
in our bodies, what a train of perishing principles they are made up
of, how easily, while we walk amidst the creatures of God here, fire
may be set to the train, and the house of clay quickly blown up, we
may say there is something more astonishing in our life than in our
death. And it must be a powerful providence that preserves this
life of ours, as a spark of fire in the midst of an ocean of water, or
as a bag of powder amidst sparks of fire flying on every hand.
Eesides, how few of us are there, but sometimes there has been
but as a hair-breadth betwixt death and us, by reason either of dis-
eases or unforeseen accidents, which we could not therefore ward off.
So that we might say of our preservation. This is the finger of God.
What remarkable deliverances has the Lord wrought for some
by unordinary means, as Jonah preserved by a whale, and Elijah
fed by the ravens!
(2.) How we are holily, wisely, and powerfully governed by Pro-
vidence, our persons and actions disposed of according to his will,
either in mercy or in wrath, Dan. iv. 35. ' All the inhabitants of
the earth are reputed as nothing ; and he doth according to his will
in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth : and
none can stay his hand or say unto him, What dost thou ?' Psal.
cxxxv. 6. Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and
in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.' While we sail the sea
OF PROVIDENCES URGED. 207
of this world, wc may well perceive, that it is not we ourselves, but
holy providence that guides the ship : Jer. x. 23. ' 0 Lord, (says
the prophet), I know that' the way of man is not in himself; it is
Bot in man that walketh to direct his steps.' And while men will
not see this, to engage them to a life of holiness, faith, and depen-
dance on God, they are often made to feel it, by their dashing on
rocks, to the bruising, if not to the splitting of them, Isa. xxvi. 11.
'Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see; but they shall
see, and be ashamed.' Let me instance here but in two things, to
shew that God sits King, and rules among men.
(1.) Man proposeth, but God disposeth, Lam. iii. 37- ' Who is he
that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it
not ?' How often are men's towering hopes levelled with the ground
in a moment? Their projects are laid with all the wit and industry
they are capable of, managed with all diligence and circumspection,
so that they cannot see how they can misgive, but must take effect
according to their wish. But he that sits in heaven, in a moment
looses a pin, and all the fabric falls to the ground, their projects
are baffled, their measures disconcerted, some stroke of providence,
which ungodly men call an unlucky accident, mars all. This was
evident in Haman's case. Sometimes it is done by an invisible hand,
whereby the wheels are taken oif, that they can drive no farther,
Job XX. 26. ' All darkness shall be hid in his secret places : a fire
not blown shall consume him ; it shall go ill with him that is left
in his tabernacle.' How often do men find their greatest cross
where they looked for their greatest comfort ! and things turn about
quite the contrary way to what was their design.
(2.) Man's extremity is God's opportunity, Gen. xxii. 14. How
often does the Lord begin his work where man ends his, and can do
no more ? When men know not what to do, God opens a door ; and
when they have no firm ground of their own left to stand upon, he
sets their foot on a rock, Psal. cvii. 27, 28. ' They reel to and fro,
and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. Then
they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out
of their distresses.' Their hopes are disappointed, but their fears
and desperate conclusions arc prevented. Something threatens
them a stroke, which they see not how to escape ; but an invisible
arm wards off the blow ; and what they look for their ruin in, there
they find by an over-ruling providence, healing and upmaking, Est.
ix. 1. What is most unlikely is brought about, while the fairest
hopes are made like the blossom that goes up as dust. Thus God
baffles men's hopes on the one hand, and their fears on the other,
that they may see, there is a wheel within a wheel that moves and
guides all.
208 THE WISE OBSEKVATION
SECONDLY, We may consider providences with respect to
their kinds, Psal. xl. 5. forecited. The wisdom of God is manifold
wisdom, and produces works accordingly, Psal. civ. 24. And .each
of them is to be observed. I will instance in these three distinctions
of providence.
First, Providences are either cross, or smiling and favourable.
Both ought to be observed, and may be so profitably.
1. We should observe cross providences that we or others meet
with. They come not by chance, but under the guidance of a holy
sovereign God, Job v. 6. ' Affliction cometh not forth of the dust,
neither doth trouble spring out of the ground.' Amos iii. 6. ' Shall
there be an evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it V God
makes himself known by them, his justice, truth, holiness, wisdom,
and power, Psal. ix. 16. ' The Lord is known by the judgment which
he executeth.' And he requires us to observe them, Mieah vi. 9.
' Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.' And it is a horrible
provocation not to observe them, Isa. xxvi. 11. forecited, and not to
comply with the design of them ; to murmur, but not kindly mourn
under them, Job xxxv. 9, 10. and xxxvi. 13. Sometimes men meet
with crosses in the way of their duty, Gal. vi. 17- and sometimes in
the way of sin, as Jonah. The design of both is to purge away sin,
Isa. xxvii. 9. But, without observations, the plaister is not applied
to the sore.
2. Smiling and favourable providences towards ourselves or others,
Psal. xl. 5. Many, in their observations of providence, are like
the flies that pass over the sound places, and swarm about the sores.
They are still complaining of their crosses and sorrows, and will
nicely reckon them up : but as to their mercies, they will not go the
length of the unjust steward, of a hundred to set down fifty, Luke
xvi. 6. They have their language, but it cannot be understood
without observation, Rom. ii, 4. Dependance on God, and humility
of heart, would teach us carefully to observe our mercies. Lam. iii.
22. Gen. xxxii. 10. even when we are meeting with heavy crosses,
Job i. 21.
Secondly, There are great lines and small lines of providence.
And,
1. We should observe the great lines of providence in signal
events. Some dispensations bear such a signature of a divine hand,
and so flash like lightning on men's face, that one can hardly miss
to observe, but must say, as Exod. viii. 19. ' This is the finger of
God.' 2 Chron. xvi. 19, 20. ' Then TJzziah was wroth, and had a cen-
ser in his hand, to burn incense : and while he was wroth with the
priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead, before the priests in
OK PROVIDENCES URGED. 209
tlie house of the Lord, from beside the incense altar. And Azariah
the chief priest, and all the priests looked upon him, and behold, he
was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence,
yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the Lord had smitten
him.' It is rare that God leaves himself without a witness, by some
such signal providences ; yet such is the perverseness of the heart
of man, that as the blind cannot observe the flash of lightning, even
these are lightly looked at, 1 Sam. vi. 9.
2. The small lines of providence. The most minute things are
guided by the all-ruling hand, Matth. x. 29, 30. And if God do
manage them, it becomes us to notice them. All the king's coin, from
the massiest piece of gold to the smallest penny, bears the king's
image and superscription, and therefore the least as well as the
greatest is current in trade. So the smallest lines of providence
pass current with those that keep a trade with heaven. Gideon
notices his hearing a fellow tell a di'eam, Judges vii. 13, &c. He-
raan, the removing of an acquaintance, Psal. Ixxxviii. 8. and Jacob,
a kind word, the shew of his brother's countenance, Gen. xxxiii. 10,
Thirdly, There are common and uncommon providences.
1. "We should observe common and ordinary dispensations, such
as fall out every day in the common road of providence. These,
because they are common, lie neglected : yet the 104th Psalm is
penned on that subject. I have observed to you already, how pro-
vidence appears in the constant revolutions of seasons, day and
night ; by the one the weary earth is refreshed, and by the other
weary man, the night being fit for rest. The subjection of the beast,
to man, by virtue of that divine word, Gen. ix. 2. forecited, without
which man could not have his necessary designs served. I add, that
wonderful diversity of faces and features, without which the man
could not know his wife, nor the parents their own children, nor the
judge the criminal; so that without this there could be no orderly
society, no government, commerce, &c. These are a sample of com-
mon providences, which studied might be of great use.
2. Uncommon and unordinary providences, as miracles, which are
beyond the power of nature ; extraordinary deliverances, judgments,
discoveries of secret crimes ; which are bright spots here and there
interspersed in the web of providence, and Aallenge a peculiar re-
gard.
THIRDLY, we may consider providences with respect to the
time of their falling out. The works of providence run parallel
with the line of time, and the continuance of the world, John v. 17.
1. We should observe the past dispensations of providence, Psal.
Ixxvii. 5. ' I have considered the days of old, (says Asaph), the
210 THE WISE OBSEnVATTON
years of ancient times.' An observer of providence must look oft'
unto others, look into himself, and, with respect to himself and
others, look back also.
(1.) Past providences towards others afford a large field for ob-
servation, reaching from the creation till now, Psal. cxliii. 5. ' I re-
member the days of old,' says David. He remembered how the
Lord dealt with Nimrod, Abimelech, Pharaoh, &c. What a chain
of wise providences has encompassed the world in the several gener-
ations thereof? what a beautiful mixture of providences has always
appeared towards the church, while the mystery of God, not yet
finished, has been a carrying on ! "What very remarkable things
have fallen out in the life and death of particular persons ! From
all the particulars of these we might draw something for our spirit-
ual advantage, as the bee from every flower extracts her honey.
(2.) Past providences towards ourselves in particular afford also
a large field, reaching from our first being till now. Look back and
consider that wonderful providence that framed thee in the womb,
Job X. 10, 11. The Psalmist finds himself in a transport of wonder
upon this reflection, Psal. cxxxix. 14, &c. Consider how the same
kind providence brought thee safe out of the womb, that the womb
was not made thy grave, or that thou wast not stifled in the birth,
Psal. xxii. 9. How thou wast provided for and preserved from the
dangers in infancy, by the same kind providence, whilst thou could-
est do nothing for thyself, Psal. xxii. 9, 10. Observe the provi-
dences of God towards thee in thy childhood, youth, middle age, and
forAvard to the present time; and thou must say as old Jacob, Gen.
xlviii. 15. 'God fed me all my life long unto this day;' and with
the Psalmist, Psal. Ixxi. 17. ' 0 God thou hast taught me from my
youth.' Observe how God gave thee such and such education, or-
dered thy lot in such and such a place in his earth, and in such sort
as he has done, how he brought thee into such and such company,
saved thee from such and such dangers, &c.
2. "We should observe the present dispensations of providence to-
wards ourselves and others, Zech. vi. 1, 2. It is a stream that still
runs by us, like those rivers that bring down the golden ore, Psal.
Ixv. 11. By day nor night it ceaseth not, Psal. xix. 2. Providence
with the one hand bid#us stoop and take on the day's load of bene-
fits, Psal. Ixviii. 19. and with the other hand lays on the day's bur-
den of evils, Matth. vi. ult. And therefore that is our duty, Psal.
iv. 4. ' Commune with your own hearts upon your bed and be still ;'
that having made our observations through the day, we may cast up
our accounts against night.
Thus far of the objects on which we are to make observations.
OP PROVIDENCES URGEB, 211
III. The next general head is, to shew what we are to observe in
providences. It is not enough to observe the work itself, but wo
must be as particular as we can about it. This is like the bruising
of the spices and the pouring out of the ointment, whereby their
fragrancy is best perceived. There are these nine things I recom-
mend to your obse\*vation.
1. The timing of providences, the great weight of a dispensation
sometimes lies in this very circumstance, that then it came, and
neither sooner nor later. And 0 the admirable wisdom that ap-
pears in thus jointing of them ! Gen. xxiv. 45. Abraham's servant
prays to be guided to the woman appointed to be Isaac's wife ; and
in the very time Rebekah comes. Gideon in the very time when he
comes near the enemy's camp, hears one of them telling his dream,
Judges vii. 13, &c. Uzziah is smitten in the very time when he is
attempting to offer incense upon the altar of incense. And here
particularly observe the timing of providences,
(1.) With respect to the frame of our spirit; for much lies in ob-
serving what frame of spirit a mercy or stroke overtakes us in. So
the church observes the timing of her deliverance, that it came when
they were not looking for it, Psal. cxxvi. 1. And that made it look
the greater. Job observes, that his trouble came on him when he
was far from security, and that made him wear it the better, Job iii.
ult. Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar's trouble began when their
hearts had quite forgot God, and that made the heavy hand of God
the heavier. 0 notice carefully what frame of spirit your mercies
or crosses find you in ; ye will see much in that.
(2.) With respect to your circumstances. How often does kind
providence catch the child at the very halting, Psal. xciv. 18. and
an angry God set fire on people's nest just when they had well fea-
thered it, and throw them down when they are just come to their
height ? Job xx. 23. So he did with holy Job, chap. xxix. 18. Ob-
serve it, and ye will find either a sting or a sweet ingredient in
what you meet with.
There is a piece of holy foresight that an exercised Christian may
have by observing the timing of a dispensation. If thou be such an
one, and wouldst know whether a Hiercy thou hast got will last or
no, how was it timed ; came it to thee when^thy spirit was weaned,
lying at the Lord's feet ? Thou hast a sure hold of it. But came it
when thy spirit was upon the fret, unhumbled, unsubdued, and thou
wouldest needs have it ? It will stick short while in thy hand,
Psal. xviii. 17, 18. Hos. xiii. 11. Fruit plucked off the tree of pro-
vidence ere it be ripe, will last short while, and set their teeth on
edge while they have it.
212 THE WISE OBSERVATION
2. The beginnings and dawnings of providences, Psal, cxxx. G.
' My soul,' says the Psalmist, ' waiteth for the Lord, more than they
that watch for the morning.' So did those mentioned, Luke i, 66.
' All tliey that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying,
What manner of child shall this be ?' Sometimes a work that God
has upon the wheel of providence will be but like the cloud, as big
as a man's hand ; but being observed, it will spread. Good Jacob
observed the dawnings of providence in Joseph's case, though he
little knew what a bright day it would end in. Gen. xxxvii. 11. It
may be long betwixt the beginning and the end ; but it is good to
notice, as the holy penman does^ the door of hope a little after the
midnight of the captivity, Jer, lii. 31. There is a great advantage
in being able to follow the thread of providence from the beginning
of it.
3. The progress of providence, endeavouring always to notice the
several steps of it, Luke ii. 19. and 61. and to follow the thread.
For God ordinarily brings great works to pass by degrees, that so
men that are weak may have the greater advantage for observation,
Hos. vi. 3. Mercies and strokes may be long a-working, the decree
may go long ere it bring forth : but much of the wisdom of God
may be seen in the several steps it takes, and the advances it makes.
4. The turns of providence. The wheel of providence is a wheel
within a wheel, and sometimes it runs upon the one side, and some-
times on the other. Observe the change of the sides. For provi-
dence to our view has many turnings and windings, and yet really
it is going straight forward, Zech. xiv. 7- It runs fast to the even-
ing with the church there ; but behold the turn, ' In the evening it
shall be light.' See the turn of the wheel in Joseph's case, Gen.
xli. 14. in Pharaoh's taking him from prison ; in the church's case,
Est. vi. 3, 4. in Ahasuerus's inquiring whether any honour had been
done to Mordecai for his discovering a plot formed against the
king's life ; and in that of Hagar and Ishmael, Gen. xxi. 17- in the
angel's calling to them out of heaven, to know what ailed them.
And ye may see the wheel ordinarily turns at the brow of the hill.
5. The end of providence, James v. 11. There seemed to be
many dismal circumstances in Job's case, concurring to his ruin.
His substance goes, hi# family, his health and ease ; his wife bids
him blaspheme and die ; his friends represent his case as that of an
hypocrite ; many a black thread appears in the web : but 0 what a
beautiful piece does it appear when it is wrought out ! Job xlii.
10, 12.
6. The mixture of providence. The unmixed dispensation is re-
served for another world ; there is mercy unmixed, Rev. xxii. 1. and
OF PROVIDENCES URGED. 213
judgment unmixed, chap. xiv. 10. But here all we meet with is
mixed. There is never a mercy we get, but there is a cross in it ;
and never a cross, but there is a mercy in it. Observe the mixture
of your mercies, to make you humble and heavenly ; for the fairest
rose that grows liere has a prickle with it, and there is a tartness
in our sweetest enjoyments. Observe the mixture of your crosses,
to make you patient and thankful ; for the bitterest pill God gives
you to swallow has a vehicle of mercy, Lam. iii. 22. ' It is of the
Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions
fail not.' And wise observers will see many mercies in one cross,
if they will but allow themselves to see how God could and might
have made it worse.
7. The concurrence of providences. Sometimes several dispensa-
tions of providence meet together in one's case. One while there
may be a meeting of several mercies together, which make a golden
spot of time among them to a person. At other time several afflic-
tions meet together, one wave comes on the back of another, till
the furnace is by several coals heated seven times. Job had expe-
rience of both in his case, a train of troubles first, and a train of
mercies succeeded. Jacob, when he came homeward to Canaan, had
a train of troubles that waited on him. And in the case of the peo-
ple of God, a very fair blink forebodes a heavy shower. The duty
in that case is, ' In the day of prosperity be joyful ; but in the day
of adversity consider,' Eccl. vii. 14. Sometimes there is a meeting
of several kinds, and one gets his bed strewed with a rose and a
thorn, &c.
8. The design and language of providences, Micah vi. 9. They
are the works of infinite wisdom, and therefore cannot be without a
design. And seeing God speaks to us by his providences, and we
ought to hear and obey when he speaks, we should be very careful
to know the moaning of dispensations, that we may fall in with the
call of providence. And the Lord takes it heinously ill if we do
not, Jer. vii. 7. If it be dark and doubtful let us lay it before the
Lord in prayer, set it in the light of the word, and meditate on it
till we find it out, Psal. Ixxiii. 16, 17-
9. Lastly, The harmony of providences. There is a fourfold har-
mony to be observed in providences. %
\st., Their harmony with the word, which they agree with as the
copy with the original. The sealed book of God's decrees is opened
in providences. Hence that of the opening the seals, in the Revela-
tion. And the book of the scripture is written over again in pro-
vidence, so that as in water face answcreth to face, so do God's
works to his word, Psal. xlviii. 8. Providence is a most regular
214 THE WISE OBSERVATION
Luilding, and the word is the draught of that building. Providence
is a curious piece of embroidery, and the word is the pattern. So
that in providence the word has been a-fulfilling ever since it was
given, and still it is a-fulfilling, and the pattern will be wrought
out when the mystery of God is finished, and not till then, Mat. v.
18. And thus it is a-fulfilling, not only by the extraordinary but
ordinary pi'ovidences. If a man quarrel any thing in a building or
embroidery, there must be a comparing it with the draught or pat-
tern of the house or embroidery, and he will be satisfied. Psal.
Ixxiii. 16, 17.
Ye will never observe providences aright, if ye do not observe
their harmony with the word ; for the word is the instituted means
of the conveyance of influences, Isa. lix. ult. By neglecting of this,
some dispensations prove stumbling-blocks, over which some break
their necks, Mai. iii. 15. Many draw harsh and ungodly conclu-
sions against others, whereby they only discover their own igno-
rance of the scriptures, and of the metliod of providence, Luke xiii.
1. — 5. John ix. 2, 3. like Job's censorious uncharitable friends, Job
V. 1.
0 Sirs, learn this lesson, that all providences which you, or I, or
any person or society in the world meet with, are accomplishments
of the scripture. And they may be reduced to and explained by
one of these five things. Either they are accomplishments of,
(1.) Scripture-doctrines, JPsal. xlviii. 8. ' As we have heard, so
have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our
God.' May not every one see, that few great men are good men ?
Do not stumble at it ; it is but a fulfilling of the scripture, 1 Cor. i.
26. ' Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble are called.' That the safest condition for the soul is
the medium between great wealth and pinching poverty, according
to Agur's prayer, Prov. xxx. 8, 9. ' Give me neither poverty, nor
riches, feed me with food convenient for me : lest I be full, and
deny thee, and say. Who is the Lord ? or lest I be poor, and steal,
and take the name of my God in vain.' — That Satan and the cor-
ruptions of the heart are sometimes most busy, when people are set-
ting themselves to serve the Lord, agreeable to Paul's experience,
Rom. vii. 21. ' I find a#aw, that when I would do good, evil is pre-
sent with me.' — That the generality of the hearers of the gospel are
not savingly wrought on by it, according to these scripture-pas-
sages, Isa. liii. 1. ' Who hath "believed our report? and to whom is
the arm of the Lord revealed ?' Matt. xxii. 14. ' Many are called,
but few are chosen.' And so in other cases. Or of,
(2.) Scripture-prophecies, 1 Tim. i. 18. ' This I commit unto thee,
OF PROVIDENCES URGED. 215
0 Timothy, according to the projjhecies which went before on thee.'
What astonishing- providences were the deliverance of Isi'ael out of
Egypt, the expulsion of the Cauaauites, Cyrus' overturning the
Babylonian empire, and loosing the captivity, and the destruction
of Jerusalem by the Romans ? But all these were but a fulfilling
of scripture-prophecies. What an astonishing providence was the
rise, reign, and continuance of the Antichristiau kingdom, and the
reformation of religion in many nations, after they had lain many
hundreds of years under Popish darkness ; These are the fulfilling
of the apocalyptic prophecies. And what an astonisliing providence
was the introduction of the gospel into Britain, and the preserva-
tion of it hitherto, amidst so many attempts to destroy it ? It is an
accomplishment of that prophecy, Isa. xlii. 4. ' The isles shall wait
for his law.' Or of,
(3.) Scripture-promises, Josh. xxi. 45. ' There failed not ought of
any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of
Israel : all came to pass,' Psal. cxix. 65. ' Thou hast dealt well with
thy servant, 0 Lord, according unto thy word.' You see the
orderly revolutions of the year, and seasons thereof; that is the
fulfilling of the scripture, Gren. viii. 22. — That those who have suf-
fered'loss in the cause of Christ, have been bountifully treated with
so much in hand, that they have had more content and inward satis-
faction in that, than any other time of their life, is a fulfilling of
scripture, Mark x. 29, 30. ' There is no ma,n that hath left house, or
brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or
lands, for my sake and the gosj^el's, but he shall receive an hun-
dred-fold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and
mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions ; and in the
world to come eternal life.' — That the way of duty has been not
only the most honourable but the safest way, is an accomplishment
of scripture-promises, Prov. x. 9. ' He that walketh uprightly,
walketh surely.' Chap. xvi. ?• ' When a man's ways please the
Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.' — That
communion with God is to be had in ordinances, is conformable to
promise, Exod. xx. 24. ' In all places where I record my name, I
will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.' Or of,
(4.) Scripture threatenings. Lev. x. 3. ' This is that the Lord
spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and
before all the congregation I will be glorified.' Hos. vii. 12. ' I
will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.' — You may
observe how dangerous it is to meddle for the ruin of the work and
people of God, from that passage, Micah iv. 11, 12. ' Now also
many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be de-
216 THE WISE OBSERVATION
filed, and let our eye look upon Zion. But they know not the
thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel : for he
shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.' How their faces
are covered with shame that despise the Lord, from 1 Sam. ii. 30.
' The Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed, that tliy house, and
the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever : but now
the Lord saith. Be it far from me ; for them that honour me, I will
honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.' — How
the faster people clave to their temporal comforts, they have the
looser hold, from Ezek. xxiv. 25. ' I will take from them their
strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that
whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters.' —
How people may run long in an evil way, but their foot will slip at
length, from Deut. xxxii. 35. ' Their foot shall slide in due time :
for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall
come upon them make haste.'
(5.) Lastly, Or they are the parallels of scripture-examples.
Psal. cxliii. 5. ' I remember the days of old.' The serious observer
will fiud a surprising fulness here, as in the other parts of scripture.
I will instance in three very astonishing pieces of providence, wMch
often put good men to their wits end, to know how to accouAt for
them ; yet being brought to the glass of scripture-examples, such a
harmony appears betwixt the one and the other, as cannot but be
extremely satisfying.
(1.) Sometimes we see men walking contrary to God, and yet
providence smiling on them, and caressing them, as if they were the
darlings of heaven. This has puzzled the best of men. It put
Jeremiah sore to it, chap. xii. 1. 2, ' Righteous art thou, 0 Lord,
when I plead with thee : yet let me talk with thee of thy judg-
ments : wherefore doth the way> of the wicked prosper ? wherefore
are all they happy that deal very treacherously? Thou hast
planted them, yea, they have taken root : they grow, yea, they
bring forth fruit ; thou art near in their mouth, and far from their
reins.' It was near carrying Asaph quite oflf his feet, Psal. Ixxiii.
13. ' Verily, I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my
hands in innocency. But, 0 ! is there not a beautiful harmony in
this with scripture-examples ? How did all Israel as one man back
Absalom in his rebellion ? How did Haman rise till he could come
no higher, unless he had got the throne ? And the tyrant Nebu-
chadnezzar carries all before him according to his wish, &c. And
scripture-doctrine unriddles the mystery, Psal. xcii. 5, 6, 7. ' O
Lord, how great are thy works ! and thy thoughts are very -deep.
A brutish man knoweth not : neither doth a fool understand this.
OF PROVIDENCES URGED. 217
When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of
iniquity do flourish : it is that they shall be destroyed for ever.'
(2.) How often do astonishing strokes light on those who are dear
to God, as if God selected them from among the rest of the world,
to shew his hatred of them ? Eccl. viii. 14, ' There is a vanity which
is done upon the earth, that there be just men unto whom it hap-
peneth according to the work of the wicked : again, there be wicked
men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous.'
0 Sirs, this has been very puzzling to those that have met with it.
But behold the harmony with scripture-examples ; as in Job's case.
Eli loses his two sons at one blow, his daughter-in-law dies, and
himself breaks his neck. Aaron the saint of God has two sons
slain by fire from heaven. The apostles were set forth as appointed
for death, &c. 1 Cor. iv. 9. Babylon is at ease when Zion lies in
ruins. See Lam. ii. 20. But further,
(3.) How often has it been the lot of some of God's people to
meet with heavy strokes from the hands of the Lord, when they
have been going in the way which God himself bade them take?
That will try people to purpose that observe these things. But
blessed be God for the Bible, that lets us see this is no untrodden
path. Jacob has an express command to return to Canaan, Gen.
xxxi. 13. But 0 what a train of heavy trials attend him ! Laban
pursues him as a thief, Esau meets him with four hundred to slay
him, the angel puts the knuckle of his thigh out of joint, his
daughter is ravished by the Shechemites, his sons murder the She-
chemites, Deborah dies, and his beloved wife Rachel dies, and
Reuben defiles Bilhah. It was no wonder he said, ' Few and evil
have the days of the years of my life been.' Gen. xlvii. 9.
2dly, There is a harmony of providences among themselves. It is
observed of the wheels, that the four had ' one likeness,' Ezek. i. 16.
The dispensations of providence of the same kind, at the greatest
distance of time from one another, have a beautiful likeness to one
another. And therefore Solomon observes, Eccl. i. 10. ' Is there
any thing whereof it may be said. See, this is new ? It hath been
already of old time, which was before us.' Did ever any meet with
such a temptation and trial as I have met with ? say some. But
says the apostle, 1 Cor. x. 13. ' There hath no temptation taken you,
but such as is common to man.' Was ever any afllicted at the rate
that I am ? says another. But hear what the apostle says. 1 Pet.
iv. 12. ' Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to
try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.' See
how Solomon accounts for this, Eccl.-i. 9, 10, 11. ' The Thing that
Lath been, it is that which shall be ; and that which is done, is that
218 THE WISE OBSERVATION
4
which shall be done ; and there is no new thing under the sun. Is
tliere any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new ? it hath
been already of old time, which was before us. There is no remem-
brance of former things ; neither shall their be any remembrance of
things that are to come, with those that shall come after.'
(1.) They are all wrought after the same pattern, namely, the
word, in the various parts thereof. The same word which was ac-
complished on a nation or person thousands of years ago, is accom-
plished on others at this very day. The same word fulfilled in
one's case some time ago, may be fulfilled over again when their
case comes to be the same it was then.
(2.) They have all the same specific end, to reward or punish,
check, direct, &c. And where the ends are alike, it is no wonder
the measures be so too. God designed to make his enemies fall,
and to deliver his church at the brink of ruin, in Esther's days;
and so in ours of late. Hence the plot was suflfered to succeed ;
and when all seemed to be done, providence struck a sudden stroke,
and turned the wheel on the wicked. But is there any thing new
here ? was it not just so in Esther's days ?
It is good to observe this harmony ; for by these means one sees
himself in a paved road, and so may the better know how to steer
his course. When one finds himself in a road where providence has
led him before, he may consult his way-marks that he set up when
he was there formerly, and so may travel it the more easily. And
the same may he do when he is in the road, where he observes
others have been before him. He may beware of the steps where
they stumbled, and keep the road by which he sees they got through.
Sdli/, There is a harmony of providences with their design and
end, Deut. xxxii. 4. ' All his ways are judgment.' There is an ad-
mirable fitness in God's measures to reach his holy ends. The
wheels were full of eyes as guided by infinite wisdom ; and whither-
soever the living creatures had a face looking, the wheels had a
side to go on. Whatsoever God created was very good. Gen. 1. ult.
that is, very fit for the end of its creation. And so are all God's
works of providence exactly answering their end. It is often ob-
served of the wheels, Thei/ turned not when they went, as a chariot
must needs do, when the charioteer has driven the horses the wrong
way. If they were to go to another quarter, they were but to go
on that side that looked that way all along. There is a twofold
harmony to be observed here.
(1.) The harmony of every piece of providence with its particular
end and design. Where there lie a great many pieces of wright-
work framed and shapen by the tradesman, should a bungler take
OF PROVIDENCES URGED. 219
them in hand, lie cannot join thera ; he complains that one mortise
is too strait, and another too wide : but the artificer can sort them,
and put each in its own place, and they answer exactly. So it is
with providence. Every piece answers to its end, Eccl. iii. 11. ' He
hath made every thing beaiitiful in his time.' There is a glaring
instance of this in the strokes that providence reaches sinners to
punish them for particular sins, where there is such an affinity be-
twixt the sin and the stroke, that the sin may be read in the punish-
ment. This is done many ways, which yet perhaps may be all re-
duced to one of these four. The stroke answers the sin, either,
(1.) In time, the stroke following hard at the heels of the provo-
cation, as 1 Kings xiii. 4. When Jeroboam put forth his hand
from the altar, saying, lay hold on the man of God, immediately
his hand dried up. So God punished Dinah's gadding abroad un-
necessarily, David's security by his adultery, and Peter's going into
the high priest's hall. Or,
(2.) In kind, whereby God justly pays home a person in the same
coin as he sinned. Adonibezek is a notable instance of this, Judg.
i. 7. ' Threescore and ten kings (says he) having their thumbs and
their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table ; as I
have done, so God hath requited me.' David's injury to Uriah's
bed is punished by Absalom's doing the same to his. So many dis-
obedient to their parents are paid home by their children again.
Some wrong and oppress others, and afterwards others deal just so
by them. Or,
(3.) In likeness, the stroke bearing a resemblance to the sin.
The Sodomites burn in lust, and they are burnt with fire from hea-
ven. Nadab and Abihu sinned by oftering strange fire, and they
are consumed with fire from the Lord. Jacob beguiles his father,
pretending he was Esau, and Laban beguiles him with Leah instead
of Rachel. As sinners measure to God in spirituals, he measures
to them in temporals, 1 Cor. xi. 30.
(4.) In flat contrariety. Adam will be as God, and he becomes
like the beast that perisheth. David's pride of the numbers of his
people is punished by the loss of seventy thousand of them. Rachel
must have children, or she cannot live ; she gets thera, and dies in
bringing one forth. The Jews crucify the Lord of glory, lest the
Romans should come and take away their place and their nation ;
and that is the very thing that brings them.
(2.) The harmony of the several pieces among themselves with
respect to their common end and design. And here there is often a
beautiful mixture of contraries to make together one beautiful
piece, Rom. viii. 28. * All things shall work together.' Strike the
p2
220 THE WISE OBSERVATION
strings of a viol one by one, tliey make but a sorry sound ; but
strike thorn together by art, they make a pleasant harmony. The
niecest piece of work lying in pieces, is but a confused heap. Joseph
is sold for a slave ; and he is brought into Pharaoh's presence.
How contrary do these seem ? but the former was as necessary as
the latter to accomplish the design of providence. Haman is ad-
vanced, and the good deed done by Mordecai is forgotten, till the
fittest time of remembering it. Both harmonize to Haraan's ruin.
Providence loses no ground in all the compasses we imagine it
takes : every circumstance is necessary to the carrying on of the
common end.
4:thly, There is a harmony of providences with the prayers of the
people of God, that have the Spirit of prayer. Gen. xxxii. compared
with xxxiii. 10. Many dispensations of providence are the returns
of prayer. This seems to be the ground of that conclusion, Psal.
xli. 11. ' By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine
enemy doth not triumph over me ;' and puts an additional sweet-
ness in mercies. There is one general rule as to the hearing of
prayer, John xvi. 23. Whatsoever prayers are believingly put up
in Christ's name are heard. And so we should notice the harmony
of providence with prayer. Concerning which I offer these five
observations.
(1.) That where God has no mind to give such a mercy, the spirit
of prayer for that mercy will be restrained, Jer. vii. 16. ' Pray not
thou for this people,' &c. As, upon the other hand, when God
minds his people a favour, he will open their lips to pray for it,
Ezek. xxxvi. 37. ' Thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be
inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them.' And this is
no wonder, if we consider, that the Spirit of the Lord dictated the
word whereof providence is the accomplishment, and the same Spirit
guides the wheel of providence, Ezek. i. 20. and the same Spirit is
the author of acceptable prayer, by which the sap of the word is
sucked out in providence, Eom. viii. 26, 27.
(2.) God hears believing prayers, either by granting the mercy
itself which is sought, as Gen. xxiv. 45. in Rebekah's appearing at
the well, and drawing water as Abraham's servant had prayed for ;
or else the equivalent, something that is as good, 2 Cor. xii. 8, 9. in
Paul's obtaining grace sulftcient for him. Either of these ways pro-
vidence brings the answer of prayer. For God's bond of promise
that faith lays hold on, and pleads in prayer, may be paid either (as
it were) in money or money-worth. And the harmony betwixt
prayer and providence is to be acknowledged either of the ways.
(3.) Providence may for a time seem to go quite contrary to the
OF I'ROVIDENCKS URCKP. 221
saints' x)rayers, aii<l yet afterwards come to meet exactly. It is au
astonishing piece of providence that the saints sometimes meet with,
namely, that a case never is more hopeless than just after they have
had a particular concern upon their spirits before the Lord about
it ; so that they are made to say, as Psal. Ixv. 5. ' By terrible
things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, 0 God of our salva-
tion.' But it is very usual in the Lord's dealings with his people to
pass a sentence of death on their mercies ere they get them, as he
did with the Israelites in Egypt, who were worse treated by Pha-
raoh after the application made to him to let them go, than before,
Exod. V. ult. Providence acts like a man that is to fetch a stroke,
swinging the axe back, that he may come forward with the greater
vigour.
(4.) Providence often very discernibly keeps pace with the pray-
ers of his people, that as they go up or down, so it goes. An emi-
nent instance whereof we have Exod. xvii. 11. in that Avhile Moses
held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand,
Amalek prevailed. Hence sometimes a matter will go fairly on,
while the soul is helped to believe and wrestle ; but when unbelief
makes the soul fag, the wheel begins to stand too. And it is no
wonder this takes place, where the same Spirit is in the creature,
and in the wheel.
(5.) Lmtly, Providence may sweetly harmonize with the spirit of
prayer, and the believer's expression in prayer, and yet not with
the desires of their own spirit, which perhaps they went to lay be-
fore the Lord, Rom. viii. 26, 27. The not distinguishing of these
two makes many see a great jarring betwixt providence and their
prayers, while in very deed there is a notable harmony betwixt
them. And if they would carefully mark the words in which, under
the influence of the Spirit, they presented their petitions to the
Lord, they might tind them wonderfully agree with the dispensation
of providence, though not with the desire of their own spirits.
IV. I proceed, in the next place, to assign reasons why Christ-
ians should wisely observe providences.
1. Because they are God's works, Psal. cxxxv. 6. The world, in
the framing of it, was not a work of chance ; neither is it so in the
management of it. "Whoever be the instruments and second causes
by which any thing falls out in our lot, God has the guiding of the
wheels, and has a negative on the whole creation. Lam. iii. 37-
* Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord com-
mandeth it not V Meet me with a favourable event ? we are debt-
ors to God for it. As Abraham's servant acknowledged, on the
favourable answer he received relating to Rebekah, in his bowing
i'3
222
THE WISE OBSERVATION
his head, and worshipping the Lord, Gen. xxiv. 26. Do we meet
with a cross one ? It is the finger of God, though we see a crea-
ture's whole hand in it, Amos iii. 6. ' Shall there be evil in a city,
and the Lord hath not done it V Now, seeing they are his woi-ks,
they ought to be observed.
2. Because they are great works, Psal. cxi. 2. * The work of the
Lord is great.' Every work of providence bears the signature of a
divine hand upon it. But the stamp is sometimes so fine, and our
eyes so dull, that we are slow to perceive it. I told you that there
are small lines of providence as well as great : but the great God
does nothing but what is great and suitable to himself. Though
some of his works are comparatively small, they are all great abso-
lutely. And therefore with respect to those I called small ones, I
must say to you, as Dent. i. 17. ' Ye shall hear the small as well as
the great.' And good reason is there for it. For,
(1.) The smaller a piece of work is, the greater and more curious
is the workmanship. Galen confessed the hand, and extolled the
wisdom of God in the thigh of a gnat. An ordinary artificer will
fit out a mill ; but the small wath requires a curious hand, and pic-
tures of the least size shew most of the painter's skill. That frogs
should have been a plague to Pharaoh, or llerod eaten up of worms,
was more admirable, than if the one had been plagued with an
armed host, and the other devoured by a lion. The rats devouring
hats and poppies. (Turn. hist. Prov. chap. 112.) was truly more
admirable than the conquests of Alexander and Csesar both.
(2.) Great things may be lying hid in the bosom of very minute
and ordinary things. Search into the rise of that wonderful turn of
providence with the church in Esther's days, and ye shall find it to
be the king's falling oft' his rest one night, Est. vi. 1. of that won-
derful overthrow of the Moabites, and ye will find it a mere fancy,
2 Kings iii. 22, 23. The curse of God may be in the miscarrying of
a basket of bread, Dent, xxviii. 17- And it may be big with a
great mercy. They say the whale is mightily beholden to the little
fish called muscidus, which swims as a guide before her, without
which she would be in danger in straits and betwixt great rocks.
The little cloud like a man's hand often darkens the heavens ere all
be done.
3. Because they are often very mysterious works, and therefore
they need observation, Psal. xcii. 5. It is necessary to give us
right views of providence, and to keep us from mistakes. The
making judgment of providences is a very tender point, wherein the
best of men have gone far wrong. Was not Jacob far out when he
said, Gen. xlii. 36. ' All these things are against me,' if we compare
OF rROVIDENCES URGED. 223
the pi'omise, Rom. viii. 28. ' All things shall work together for
good,' &c. and the event too ? Many a time the ontside of provi-
dence is very unlike it inside. The greatest cross may he wrapt up
in what we take to be our greatest comfort ; and the greatest com-
fort may be inwrapt in what we call our greatest cross. Observa-
tion must break the shell, that we may look in.
4. Because they are always perfect works. They will abide the
strictest search and the most narrow inquiry, Deut. xxxii. 4. What-
ever faults we find with them, as we do many, it is for want of due
observation. But at length he shall gain that testimony and re-
cantation, ' He hath done all things well,' Mark vii. 37- In these
his works no flaw is to be found, no mistake ; nothing too much, no-
thing too little ; nothing too soon done, nothing too late done ; no-
thing misplaced, nothing in or over ; nay, nothing done that is not
best done ; nothing that man or angel could make better. The
world will startle at this as a i>aradox : but faith will believe it, on
the solid ground of infinite wisdom, though sense contradict it, Isa.
xxxviii. 8. Jer. xii. 1. 0 that they who will debate this truth
would come near and observe.
5. Lastly, Because they are speaking works, Micah vi. 9. They
speak Heaven's language to the earth, and therefore should be ob-
served. And they speak,
(1.) Of him, Psal. xix. 2. They preach to us that he is, what a
God he is, how holy, just, wise, good, and powerful, &c. We may
see there his perfections as in a glass. Each pile of grass speaks a
God, a wise, good, and powerful one. So many creatures as there
are, so many mouths to speak of him. And it is man's work to ob-
serve and hear. When God had replenished the heavens with sun,
moon, and stars, and the earth with variety of creatures, the crea-
tion was still imperfect till man was made. For what avails the
musical instrument, if there be nobody to play on it ?
(2.) For him. Cross providences speak for him, Micah vi. 9.
And favourable providences also, Rom. ii. 4. Hereby sinners are
instructed in the way they should go, Psal. xxxii. 8. reproved, as
Joseph's brethren ; and comforted, as Paul was, Phil. ii. 27 And,
in a word, they call us from sin unto God ; by them, where the word
goes before, Christ knocks at the door of sinners' hearts, and calls
for access.
I come now to the improvement of this doctrine. And,
I. It may serve for lamentation. Ah ! may we not say. Who is
wise to observe these things? Wise observers of providence are
thin sown in the world ; because there are few exercised to godli-
ness. God has given us enough to observe iu the public and in our
224 THE WISE OBSERVATION
private case. lie is speaking by his providence to the land, he is
speaking loudly at this day to the parish, to you and to m-e, and to
every one in particular. But, alas ! it is not observed to purpose.
Graceless people are presumptuous, and will not observe ; and even
many godly are heedless, and do not observe. There are these six
evidences that this wise observation of providence is very rare.
1. How many are there who see God no more in their mercies
and crosses, than if they were a parcel of atheists, that did not
think there were a God, or that believed no providence at all? If
they get a mercy, God is not owned in it ; they sacrifice to their
own net. If they get a cross, they cry out by reason of the arm of
the Almighty. But none saith, "Where is God my Maker ! In all
the turns of their life and lot, they never seriously look to the wheel
within the wheel.
2. How many are there to whom God in his providence is speak-
ing plain language, that he who runs may read it, yet they will not
understand it? Psal. Ixxxii. 5. God plagues the Philistines for
the ark most visibly, yet they are at a loss, saying, It may be it is
a chance. Balaam's ass refuses to carry him forward on the way,
but he is in a rage against her. God meets sinners in their way,
Avith speaking providences ; but on they go ; they do not hear, they
will not be stopped. . Like the dog, they snarl at the stone, but look
not to the hand that threw it.
3. How few are exercised to know the design of providences that
they meet with ? Many signal mercies they meet with, but put not
the question. What is God saying to me by these things ? Many a
heavy dispensation they meet with, partly by the rod's hanging over
their heads, partly by its lying on them ; yet they never seriously
take up Job's exercise, chap. x. 2. ' I will say unto God, Do not
condemn me ; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.' These
things let them come and go with as little concern to know the de-
sign of them, as if they had none.
4. How few are exercised to comply with the design of provi-
dences, to accommodate themselves to the divine dispensations ? Job
xxxiii. 13, 14. If men were wise observers of providence, it would
be their constant practice to be answering the several calls thereof,
still facing about toAvards it, as the shadow on the dial to the body
of the sun, Psal. xxvii. 8. ' When thou saidst. Seek ye my face ; my
heart said unto thee, Thy face. Lord, will I seek.' But, alas ! men
meet with humbling providences, but they are not exercised to mor-
tify their pride : they meet with awakening providences, yet they
are not exercised to rouse up themselves to their duty : they meet
with afflicting providences in Avorldly things, yet they are not exer-
OF PROVIDENCES UliGED. ■ 225
cised to get their hearts weaned from the world ; they meet with
reproving providences, yet they are not exercised to repent and
mourn over the sins thereby pointed out. But they really strive
with their Maker, and while he draws by his providence, they hold
fast, and will not let it go, Jer. vi. 29.
5. The little slcill'that people have in judging of providences. A
man will readily have skill in his own trade : but it is no wonder to
see people unacquainted with things in which their business does not
lie. 0 what commentaries on providence are in the world, that des-
troy the text ! How miserably is the doctrine of particular dispen-
sations perverted ! Despisers of God and his ordinances are very
easy ; and therefore the world concludes, ' it is vain to serve God,
and that there is no profit in keeping his ordinances,' Mai. iii. 14.
' The proud are called happy,' ver. 15. They are best that have
least to do with them. Good men meet with signal strokes : the
world concludes that they are hypocrites, and they must be guilty
of some heinous wickedness beyond other people. Job v. 1. Luke
xiii. 1, 2. And a thousand such blunders there are,
6. Lastly, They rank poverty in respect of Christian experience
found among professors. What a learned Egyptian said to a
Greek, Vos Greed semper piieri, may be said to many in whom there
is some good thing towards the God of Israel, Ye professors are
ever children, 2 Cor. iii. 1. Ileb. v. 12. And what is the reason,
but that we have never yet fallen close to the study of observing
providences ? See the text. There is a daily market in providence,
but ye do no trade in it ; and therefore ye are always poor. There
is perhaps a lesson put in your hands this day, that ye had several
years since, but ye did not learn it ; and so it is noAv as great a
mystery to you as then.
Use II. Of exhortation. 0 be exhorted to become wise observers
of i)rovidence. 0 fall at length upon this piece of practical reli-
gion. Many of us have it, I fear, yet to begin ; and all have need
to mend their pace in it. For enforcing this exhortation, I shall
give you some other points of doctrine from the words, by way of
motives and direction, and so shut up this subject.
For motives take these doctrines.
1. "Wise observing of providence is a rare thing in the world :
Who is wise, and will obse)'ve these things, as the words may bear.
And the reason is, the truth of religion is rare, and close and tender
walking with God is ycl rarer, Slatth. xxii. 14. and xxv. 5. The
most part of the world go the broad way to destruction, Matth. vii.
14. and therefore they are not concerned to observe the works of
the Lord. Many Christians there are, that, alas ! in these dregs of
226 ■ THE WISE OBSERVATION
time are not exercised Christians. Up then and be doing, and con-
spire not with the multitude to put a slight on God's speaking by
his providence, lest his fury break forth as fire on you with the
rest, John vi. 66.
The more rare the observing of providence is, it is the more pre-
cious. Stones may be gathered from the surface of the earth, while
gold must be dug with much labour out of the bowels of it. The
finest things are hardest to be won at : Nulla virtus sine lapide. As
Christ himself had a stone rolled on him, so every grace, work, and
way of Christ has one. But there is a pearl underneath ; and the
heavier the stone, the more precious is the pearl. Come and see in
this particular.
II. They that are wise will be observers of providences. Whoso is
wise, and luill observe these things. And at what pitch your wisdom
arrives, your observation of providences will follow it, Eccl. ii. 14.
The eating of the forbidden fruit cast all mankind into a spiritual
madness ; and the truth is, the most part of the world are in that
respect as madmen, regarding neither the word nor works of the
Lord. But if thou wert come to thyself, it would not be so, Luke
XV. 17. How long hast thou acted as a fool, in matters of greatest
weight, being penny-wise and pound-foolish, careful for a mite, and
in the meantime letting talents slip through thy fingers ? Luke x.
41, 42.
0 Sirs, how do unobserved providences aggravate our gnilt, and
increase our accounts ! When the day shall come, the Lord will
reckon with the sinner, for all the pains he has bestowed on him to
bring him to himself : when his slighting the call of the word shall
be aggravated with so many items of providences. How will the
sinner look, when the Lord shall say. Did I not give thee such and
such mercies to draw thee from thy sin ? lay such and such crosses
in thy way to drive thee from it ? What hast thou done with all
the instructive up-stirring providences I gave thee ? with all the
providential warnings, rebukes, &c. given thee ? Remember that
passage, Prov. ix. 12. ' If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thy-
self : but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.'
* III. The wise observation of providences is a soul-enriching
trade. They shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord. This
is so on two accounts, both deducible from the text.
1. That which seems the most barren piece of iH'ovidence, becomes
fruitful by wise observation. Some of these things in the text are
very cross providences ; yet even by them one shall understand the
loving-kindness of the Lord. Behold a holy art, whereby ye may
not only gather honey out of every sweet-smelling flower, but may
gather grapes of spiritual profit off the thorns of afflictions, and figs
OF PROVIDENCES URGED. 227
of thistles. The apostle tells us a mystery, of a pleasure in infirmi-
ties, distresses, &c. 2 Cor. xii. 10. Wise observation would let you
into the secret.
2. It has the promise, in the text. God has said, such a one shall
know more and feel more in religion than others. ' To him that
hath (i. c. improves what he has) shall be given.' And the more a
man sets himself to observe, the more he will get to observe, and the
more sappy will his observations be. By the wise observation of
providences,
(1.) Sin and duty in particular cases is discovered. Ko dispensa-
tions of providence whatsoever can warrant us to go over the belly
of God's commands, 1 Sam. xiii. 11, &c. But where two lawful
things are before us, providence may point out what is present duty,
and which of them we are to choose. And so the word teacheth,
Psal. xxxii. 8. ' I will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way which
thou shalt go : I will guide thee with mine eye.'
(2.) One gets a clear view of the divine authority of the scrip-
tures, very necessary in such an age wherein atheism, pi'ofaneness,
and immorality so much abound. For the wise observer sees the
fulfilling of it exactly, and so is confirmed. While he observes
providences, he sees scripture-doctrines, promises, threatenings, and
prophecies accomplished, and the parallels of scripture-examples ;
and so reads the truth of God's word in his works, Psal. Iviii. 11.
(3.) Hereby a Christian is established in the good ways of the
Lord, and that by those very things that make others to stagger,
yea, themselves also, Avhen they do not observe, Psal. Ixxiii. 22, (S:c.
It is the woful estrangedness to this exercise that makes so many
here-away there-away professors, tossed about with every wind that
rises, while amidst all these reelings the wise observer sits firm like
the expert mariner among the boisterous waves, Psal. cxliii. 5.
(4.) Hereby a Christian gets store of experiences, to lay by him
for use at another time. How did Joseph sustain Egypt in time of
the dearth, but by the corn laid up in time of plenty ? So the
Psalmist says, ' 0 my God, my soul is cast down within me : there-
fore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Her-
monites, from the hill Mizar,' Psalm xlii. 6. But for want of this
some people are always from hand to mouth, always to begin ; ever
learning, never coming to the knowledge of the truth, Mark vi. 62.
(5.) Lcistly, It is a nurse to all the graces of the Spirit. It is a
notable help to faith, Exod. xiv. ult. A short-limbed faith will
reach far up, when it stands upon experiences. — To love ; see the
text. Now, the love of God perceived kindles the flame of love in
us. — To patience and waiting on the Lord ; for observation will
keep them from being hasty while the work is on the wheel, Psal,
228 THE WISE OliSEUVATION OF PROVIDEKCES URGED.
xxxvii. 2. — To liope ; ' for experience worketh hope,' Rom. v. 4 ;
for former mercies are pledges of future ones. — To contempt of tlie
world. — To holy fear, Exod. xiv. ult. — To delight and joy in tlie
Lord, Psal. xcii. 4. — To self-loathing, and thankfulness, Psal. cxliv.
1, 2, 3, &c.
And now for direction take this doctrine, There is need of true wla-
dom to Jit a man for tight observation of providence. And that wis-
dom is,
1. Spiritual wisdom, 1 Cor. ii. 15. Carnal wisdom is no good
observer of providence, as the blind man is no fit judge of colours.
2. Scripture wisdom ; for the scripture is the pattern, and provi-
dence the work. They that study the language of Heaven in pro-
vidence, must consult the scriptures as the dictionary for that lan-
guage.
3. Practical wisdom, Psal. cxi. 2. Even scripture-notions float-
ing in the head will do but little service, but sinking into the heart,
reduced into practice, will be of good use here. And the more to fit
you for this work, take these following lessons from the word con-
cerning providences.
(1.) The design of Providence may sometimes lie very hid ; and
therefore it is good to wait, and not to be rash, Psal. Ixxvii. 19.
(2.) Sometimes providence seems to forget the promise ; but it is
not so, but only the time of the promise is not then come. Gen. xv.
4. with xvi. 2.
(3.) Sometimes providence seems to go quite cross to the promise,
and his work to go contrary to his word. But wait ye, they will
assuredly meet. Gen. xxii.
(4.) Ofttimes providence favours a design, which yet will be blasted
in the end, for that it was not the purpose of God, Jonah i. 3.
(5.) Ofttimes providence will run counter in appearance to the
real design, and by a tract of dispensations will seem to cross it
more and more, till the grave-stone appear to be laid on it. And
yet, ' at evening-time it shall be light,' Zech. xiv. 7.
(6.) Providence many times lays aside the most likely means and
brings about his work by that which nothing is expected of, 2 Kings
V. 11, 12.
(7.) Lastly, Sometimes providence works by contraries, as the
blind man was cured with laying clay on his eyes.
Learn to live by faith, and be frequent in meditation and self-
examination, and be much in prayer.
Thus I have laid before you the duty of observing providences.
May the Lord pity them that make no conscience of practising what
they hear, and get nothing of all but a testimony against them-
selves. And may he giA'e us all understanding in all things.
OF THK COVENANT OF WORKS. 229
OF THE COVENANT OF WORKS.
Gen. ii. 16, 17- — And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of
every tree of the garden thou mai/st freely eat: but of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it : for in the day
that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.
Having already shown, that God from all eternity decreed what-
ever comes to pass ; that he executes his decrees in the works of
creation and providence ; that he made all things of nothing by the
word of his power ; that he made man upright, adorned with his
moral image, consisting in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness ;
and that his providence, extends to all his creatures, and all their
actions : that which now falls to be considered is the special act of
providence which God exercised towards man, in the estate wherein
he was created, namely, the covenant of works which God made
with Adam. This covenant is sometimes called the covenant of
works, because works, or obedience, was the condition of it ; and
sometimes the covenant of life, because life was promised therein as
the reward of obedience.
In discoursing from this subject, I shall,
I. Shew that God made a covenant with Adam, when he created
him in a state of iunocency.
II. Explain the nature of this covenant.
III. Shew why God entered into this covenant with man.
lY. Make improvement.
I. That God made a covenant with Adam when he had created
him in a state of innocency, appears from this text with the con-
text. For here are the parties contracting, God and man.
1. Here is the duty which God requires of man, not eating of the
forbidden fruit; which was no command of the natural law, but
superadded thereto, and implied his obligation to observe that law
much more.
2. A threatening in case man should break this positive law,
TJiou shalt die.
3. A promise of life in case of continued obedience. For the
threatening manifestly implies another proposition, viz. ' If thou eat
not of this tree thou shalt live.' Besides, the license the Lord gives
him to eat of every other tree in the garden, and so of the tree of
life, imports this promise.
4. Man's accepting of the terms. This is left to be gathered from
the proposal of it by the Lord to innocent man, who would refuse
230 OF THE COVENANT OF WOEKS.
no terms that a bountiful God proposed. He objected not against
the condition ; he betook himself to the privilege of the covenant,
eating of the other trees of the garden. Eve owns it, Gen. iii. 3.
* Of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God
hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye
die.' And when they had eaten of this forbidden fruit, their con-
sciences terrified them, ver. '8. ' Adam and his wife hid themselves
from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.'
No wonder that Moses with a running pen describes this transaction,
which, as to its being the way of salvation then proposed, passed as
a flying shadow. Thus this covenant appears from the text.
To confirm this, consider that the scripture speaks of two cove-
nants, Gal. iv. 24. the one of grace, and therefore the other of
works. See also Hos. vi. 7. ' They like men have transgressed the
covenant.' The Hebrew bears, as Adam. It is the same word that
occurs, Job xxxi. 33. ' If I have covered my transgressions as
Adam. This will further appear while we shew,
II. The nature of this covenant. Wherein consider,
First, The parties covenanting. On the one hand was God, the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, man Creator and Sovereign Lord,
who is the great Lawgiver, and withal good, and communicative of
his goodness to his creatures. On the other part was man, God's
creature ; Adam, representing all mankind, and covenanting with
God, not only for himself, but for all his posterity, as the natural
father of all, of whose one blood nations of men were to be made,
Acts xvii. 26. and the appointed federal head ; which is clear from
the imputation of his sin to all. Gen. ii. 17.' ' In the day that thou
eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.' Compare Rom. v. 12. ' As
by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; and so
death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.' There was no
mediator in this covenant ; nor was there need of any : for man was
as yet the holy friend of God, and his service while he stood was
acceptable to God, as being fully conformable to his own law, in
which he could not but delight, as in his own image.
Secondly, The condition of that covenant was perfect obedience,
which God required of Adam, Gal. iii. 10, 12, " Cursed is every one
that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of
the law to do them. — And the law is not of faith : but. The man
that doth them shall live in them.' The tenor of this covenant was,
' Do this and live.' Where three things are to be considered.
1. The law, which was to be the rule of that obedience ; which is
twofold. (1.) The moral law, or the law of the ten commandments,
as the apostle explains it, Gal. iii. 10. forecited. It is true, Adam
OF THE COVENANT OP "WORKS. 231
had not this law written on tables of stone, but it was written in his
heart ; the knowledge of it was concreated with him, so that he
naturally knew it, being made upright ; which he could not be with-
out this, Eccl. vii. 29. Yea, this law is in part written on man's
heart after the fall, as appears from Rom. ii. 15. Much more was
it written on Adam's heart before the fall. This law is the per-
petual rule of righteousness. (2.) There was the positive symboli-
cal law, of not eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
This law was revealed to Adam in the text, neither could he other-
wise have known it ; it being no part of the law of nature, but a
thing in itself altogether indifferent, and depending merely on the
will of Grod, who could have appointed otherwise. Only, as the
natural or moral law obliged him to this, seeing it commands the
creature to obey God's will in all things ; so by this his respect to
the moral law was manifested ; for as in not eating he testified his
supreme love and obedience to God, so in eating of it he rejected
the sweet yoke of God, and took on that of the devil.
2. The nature of the obedience that was in the condition of this
covenant. It behoved to be perfect.
(1.) In respect of the principle of it. So the law requires men to
' love the Lord with all the heart.' It required not only external
obedience, refraining from the thing forbidden ; but internal obedi-
ence, which behoved to proceed from a disposition of soul bent to-
wards God, in which there was no blemish, and altogether free and
unconstrained without any reluctancy from within. And this im-
plies, that the glory of God behoved to be man's chief end in all his
actions, without having the least squint look to any other as his
chief end.
(2.) Perfect in parts extending to all the commands of God
whatsoever that were given him. Gal. iii. 10. with respect to his
thoughts, words, and actions. He was to do nothing that God pro-
hibited, and to omit nothing that he commanded. He was to fulfil
all righteousness, and his obedience was to be as broad as the law.
Every commandment, without the least exception as to one tittle,
was to be obeyed to the fullest extent.
(3.) Perfect in degrees. He was to ' love the Lord his God with
all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his mind,' Matt.
xxii. 37. Every act of obedience behoved to be perfect in degrees,
wanting nothing of that perfection which the law required. Every
action performed by him behoved to be screwed up to the pitch de-
termined in the law, without falling short of it in the least punc-
tilio. All that was lower than that height required, was to be
rejected as sinful ; and the least flaw spoiled the whole.
232 OF TIIK COVENANT OF WOIIKS.
(4.) Perfect in duration or continuance, without interruption,
while God should have kept hira in the state of trial, Gal. iii. 10.
This state could not have been for ever, without rendering the pro-
mise of life fruitless; for to make a promise necessarily implies that
a time is set for obtaining the reward promised to the obedience ;
and if Adam was to continue in a perpetual state of trial, he could
never have obtained the reward of his obedience. The time of this
probation is not mentioned in the Bible. Probably it was not to be
very long. And perhaps the devil, knowing the benignity and
goodness of the Creator to his upright creature man, that he would
not keep him long in a state liable to mutability, was incited to
attack hira so very early as on the day of his creation, in order to
prevent his confirmation in an upright estate.
This and no less was the condition of that covenant. On no
other terms could he attain to eternal happiness by it, or be justi-
fied in respect of his state before the Lord, though he might in re-
spect of particular actions.
Hence it appears, that sincere obedience could not have been ac-
cepted, if it was not altogether perfect ; nothing could be accepted,
but an obedience altogether without fault or blemish; and that
there was no place for repentance under this covenant ; no sor-
row for transgressing in the least instance could be admitted :
for the threatening was peremptory, ' In the day that thou eatest
thereof, thou shalt surely die.' Such a positive denunciation cut off
all hope, and rendered repentance of no avail.
3. Adam's power to perform the obedience required. He was
able to answer all the demands of that covenant, being made
upright, Eccl. vii. 29. and in the image of God. There was light in
his understanding, sanctity in his will, and rectitude in his affec-
tions; there was such an harmony among all his faculties, that his
members yielded to his affections, his affections to his will, his will
obeyed his reason, and his reason was subject to the law of God.
Had he not then sufficient knowledge of his duty ? and was he not
invested with full power to perform the obedience required of him ?
Besides, it was not consistent with the justice and goodness of God
to have required that of his creature, which he had not given him
power to perform. The case is quite otherwise with respect to us in
our lapsed state, for we have lost the power of yielding obedience
to God's law in Adam. But let it be remembered, that though we
are utterly unable to obey, yet God has not lost his right to demand
obedience ; which should induce us to betake ourselves to the second
covenant, where every thing is freely given, and the will accepted
for the deed.
OF THE COVENANT OF WORKS. 233
Thirdly, The promise of the covenant was life, and therefore it is
called the covenant of life. Now, a threefold life was promised.
1. Natural life, consisting in the union of the soul with the body,
which should have been continued without death, if Adam had not
sinned. Gen. iii. 19. Though man's body was made of dust, yet, by
virtue of the covenant-promise, it would have been secured from
mingling with its original materials. As it Avas created without
any principle of death, so it was not susceptive of any hazard
from that quarter, as long as the covenant should be observed.
His natural life would have remained in constant vigour, without
languishing or decay : And he would have enjoyed the comfort of
this life pure and unmixed without any of those evils, miseries
and inconveniencies, which now overspread the world.
2. Spiritual life, consisting in the union of the soul with God.
Man's soul was, and is in its own nature, immaterial and immortal,
not liable to dissolution. It was endued with spiritual life at its
creation, living in union and communion with God, and adorned
with his image, consisting in righteousness and holiness. This
image of God would have been continued in him. His knowledge •
of God and his duty would not have failed ; nor would the righte-
ousness of his will, or the purity and regularity of his affections
have decayed. He would still have been the friend of God, and the
favourite of heaven ; and would never have been without the most
lively marks of the love and friendship of his covenant God. He
would have had ready access to God, without any eclipse of the di-
vine favour ; and the utmost pleasure and satisfaction in doing his
duty, which would have been a continual feast to him.
3. Eternal life, or the glorious happiness of heaven. He should
have been confirmed in his holy and happy estate beyond the hazard
or possibility of sinning, or forfeiting it. — Though he was created
mutable, and mutability is woven into the very nature of the crea-
ture, yet having finished the time allotted for his probation, he
would have been secured from actual liableness to change for
ever. His body would have been absolutely and for ever secured
against hazard of death, or hurt from external accidents or injuries.
He would have been confirmed in the love and favour of God for
ever, without any hazard of falling out of it. The sun of favour
from God would have shone upon him, without ever setting. And
after the time of his trial was over, he would have been transported,
soul and body, into the heavenly paradise, there to abide for ever.
He would not have always lived in the earthly paradise, where
he was to eat, drink, and sleep, but have been carried to the celes-
tial paradise, where the happy inhabitants live as the angels of
234
OF THE COVENANT OP WORKS.
God. This is plaiu, if lie consider that application of the covenant
of works, Matth, xix. 16, 17. — ' If thou wilt enter into life, keep the
coramandraents.' Here Christ holds forth eternal life as the pro-
mise of this covenant, to be had on the performance of the con-
dition. The weakness of the law to give eternal life now, ariseth
only from the flesh, that is, the corruption of nature, whereby we
are unable to fulfil the condition of it, Rom. viii. 3. It was eternal
life that Christ purchased for his people, and that as he was made
under the law, by which he obtained that very life to them, which
otherwise they should have had, if man had not sinned, Rom. viii.
3, 4. Gal. iv. 4, 5. Besides, eternal death was threatened ; and the
goodness of God uses not to propose greater punishments than re-
wards. And if it had not been so, man had nothing to expect more
than he had when created, and set down in paradise.
Fourthly, The penalty of this covenant, in case of disobedience,
was death ; natural, consisting in the separation of the body from
the soul ; spiritual, in the separation of the soul from God, a death
in trespasses and sins, Eph. ii. 1 ; and eternal, in the separation of
both body and soul from God for ever in hell. Matt. xxv. 41. Man's
body had never died had he not sinned, for ' the wages of sin is
death,' Rom. vi. ult. and far less his soul, which would have flourished
in all the beauty of spiritual verdure and vigour for ever. But it
may be asked. How was the threatening accomplished, when Adam
lived so long after his fatal transgression ? I answer. That day
that he sinned he died spiritually. His soul was divested of the
image of God that was stamped upon it at its creation ; his uudei'-
standing became dark, his will rebellious, and his affections im-
pure and irregular. He lost the favour of his Maker, and he was
exposed to the wrath of God, as a mark at which the arrows of the
divine displeasure were to be levelled. That this spiritual deatli
was inflicted upon man immediately after his foul transgression, is
evident from those gripes and throws of conscience that seized him,
which made him hide himself from God amidst the trees of the gar-
den. And this of course would have actually terminated in eternal
death in hell, had not a Mediator been provided, who found man
bound with these cords of death as a malefactor bound to the exe-
cution. And as for his natural life, that day he sinned, he got his
death's wounds, of which he afterwards died ; that day he became
mortal, and his body liable to sickness, disease, pain, and every
other harbinger of death. The crown of immortality, which he
held of his Creator, by virtue of the covenant made with him, fell
from oft' his head, and he became a subject of the king of terrors.
He became liable to all those cords wherewith death binds his pri-
OF THE COVKNANT OF WOKKS. 235
soners. So that he was as sure a dead man as if dead already,
though the execution of the sentence was delayed, because of his
posterity which were in his loins, and because another covenant was
prepared, by which the life and happiness forfeited by the breach
of the first covenant, was to be recovered, and that with great ad-
vantage.
Fifthly, "We may consider how the covenant of works was con-
firmed. It hath pleased God to append seals to his covenants with
men ; and this covenant seems not to have wanted some things in-
tended sacraraentally to confirm it. Among which may be reckoned,
1. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Gren. ii. 17. What
sort of a tree it was, the scripture does not determine. But what-
ever it was, it was not so called, as having any virtue or power to
make men wise ; that was the devil's divinity. Gen. iii. 5. who told
Eve, that if they eat of it, they should he as gods ; but he was a liar
from the beginning, John viii. 44. : but it was called so, because by
it they knew to their fatal experience the happy state they fell
from, and the woful misery that fall plunged them into. It obtained
that name, because it was a warning-sign to them to beware of the
experimental knowledge of evil, as they knew good. They had
special acquaintance with good in all its charming kinds ; and this
tree was set before them as a beacon to warn them from looking
after the knowledge of evil, which, like a dangerous rock, would
dash them to pieces, if they split upon it. And it served to confirm
the covenant, and the happiness of their primitive state ; inasmuch
as in the threatening relative to this tree was included a promise,
that as long as they kept from eating of its prohibited fruit, they
should never die. And hence we may gather, which is no impro-
bable opinion, that our first parents could fall by no other trans-
gression than eating of this tree. And the devil that finished
master of craft and subtility, attacked them in this quarter, as the
only side on which he could promise himself success. And alas for
poor man ! Satan's stratagem succeeded, to the ruin of the whole
human race.
2. The tree of life. Gen. ii. 9. Though we have ground to think
that this tree might be an excellent means of preserving the vigour
of bodily life, as other trees in the garden also were, yet it could
have no virtue in itself of making man every way immortal. But
it seems to have been called the tree of life by reason of its significa-
tion being appointed of God as a sacrament, by eating whereof he
should have been confirmed in the belief of the promise of life na-
tural being continued, of spiritual life perpetuated, and eternal life
to be enjoyed in heaven ; which was the main thing, and included
,, 9
236 OP THE COVENANT OP WORKS.
the other two, Geu. iii. 22. ' And now, lest he pnt forth his liand,
and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever,' he must
be driven out ; denoting, that man, by sin, having lost his right to
eternal life signified by this tree, was driven out, Rev. ii. 7. that he
might not profane the sacrament of it, to which he had now no more
right. The words do not mean, that if Adam had eaten of the tree of
life after his fall, he should retrieve his forfeited life ; this being
impossible, because the threatening was express. In the day thou
eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die ; and that the tree of life had no
such virtue and efficacy in itself, and ceased to be a sacrament of
the covenant of works the moment man sinned. It was intended
to assure and persuade him of life upon performing the condition ;
but the covenant being broken that assurance and persuasion actu-
ally fell of course. The whole verse may be read thus, Behold the
man who was one of us, to know good and evil : and noiv lest he put
forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, that he may
live for ever. Where three things are very plain. (2.) There is no
irony or scoff here, as if God should say, Behold the man has at-
tempted to become like one of us, to know good and evil ; but how
shamefully has he failed of his design ! but, on the contrary, a most
pathetic lamentation over fallen man. This sentence is evidently
broken off abruptly, the words, I will drive him out, being sup-
pressed ; even as in the case of a father, who, with sighs and sobs,
puts his offending child out of doors. (2.) It was God's design to
prevent Adam's eating of the tree of life, as he had eaten of the
forbidden tree ; thereby mercifully taking care, that our fallen fa-
ther, who had now got a revelation of the covenant of grace, might
not, according to the corrupt natural inclination of men since the
fall, run back to the covenant of works for life and salvation, by
partaking of the tree of life, a sacrament of that covenant, and so
reject the covenant of grace, by the eating of that tree now, as he had
before broken the covenant of works, by the eating of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil. (3.) At this time Adam imagined,
that by the eating of the tree of life he might recover his forfeited
life, and so live for ever.
III. I come now to shew why God entered into this covenant
with man. I know no reason can be given for this, but what must
be resolved into the glory of the grace and goodness of God. It
was certainly an act of grace and admirable condescension in God,
to enter into a covenant with his own creature. Man was not at
his own but God's disposal ; nor had he any thing to work with but
what he had from God; so that there was no proportion betwixt
the work enjoined and the reward promised. Man before that cove-
OF THE COVENANT OF WORKS. 237
nant was bound, but God was free : for man was under the law of
nature before he was under the covenant ; for the law was created
with him, that is, he was no sooner a rational creature than he was
under the law ; but this covenant was not made with him till after
he was brought into the garden to dress it. Before that covenant
God was free to dispose of man as he saw fit, however perfectly he
kept the law ; but when in the covenant he made the promise of
conferring life upon Adam in case of continued obedience, during
the time set for his trial, then he was debtor to his own faithful-
ness, which is necessarily engaged to perform whatever he hath pro-
mised. Again, deatli was the natural wages of sin, though there
had been no covenant, and that by the rule of justice, which plainly
requires that man should be dealt with as he has done. But man
having given consent, however tacit, and not expressed in so many
words, which yet is equivalent to a formal consent to the covenant,
implying the threatening, the Lord proceeds not by simple justice,
but by express formal covenant, in punishing for the breach of it.
But we may consider the reason of God the Almighty Creator and
Lawgiver's entering into a covenant with man a little more particu-
larly, and that to the end our hearts may be impressed with a just
sense of the glorious perfections of the great God, and the great
goodness shewn to man in that whole transaction. I say, then, that
God was pleased to deal with man by way of covenant, for two very
important ends, the manifestation of his own glory, and man's
greater good.
1. For his own glory, which is the supreme end of all his actions.
More particularly,
(1.) To display the lustre of his manifold or variegated wisdom,
Eph. iii. 10. This way of dealing was the most effectual method
for securing man's obedience : for the covenant being a mutual en-
gagement between God and his creature, as it gave him infallible
assurance to strengthen his faith, so it was the sweetest bond to
preserve his felicity. Divine wisdom shines clearly, in suiting the
method of dealing to the nature of the reasonable creature, which
was to be led with its own consent. It is true the precept alone is
binding upon man by virtue of the authority of the imposer ; but
man's own consent increases the obligation, twisting the cords of
the law and binding them more strongly to obedience. Thus Adam
was God's servant by the condition of his nature, and also by his
own choice, accepting the covenant, from which he could not recede,
without the guilt and infamy of the worst perfidy. The terms of
the covenant were such as became the parties concerned, God and
man : it established an inseparable connection between duty and
q3
238 OF THK COVENANT OP WORKS.
liiippiness ; as is plain from tlie sanction, In the day thxxt thou eat est
thereof thou shalt surely die.
(2.) To shew his wonderful moderatiom For though he be Sove-
reign Monarch of the world, and has absolute power over all crea-
tures to dispose of them as he pleases ; yet, in covenanting with
man, he sweetly tempered his supremacy and sovereign power, seek-
ing as it were to reign with man's consent. And when, by virtue
of his sovereigu authority and absolute right, he might have en-
joined harder terms to man, and those too altogether just and
righteous, he chose to use so much moderation, that he would re-
quire nothing of man, but that which man himself should judge, and
behoved in reason to be a just and easy yoke; and which, in ac-
cepting the terms, he acknowledged to be such.
(3.) For the praise of the glory of his grace. It was free conde-
scension on God's part to make such a promise to man's obedience.
He might have required obedience from him by virtue of his sove-
reignty, as his Lord and Maker, without binding himself by any
promise to reward his service. All that he was capable to do was
but mere duty to his Creator ; and when he had done all that was
commanded him, it was no more than what he was bound to do as
God's creature. It was simply impossible for man to merit any
thing at God's hand. It must be owned, there was much grace in
this transaction, in that God entered into terms of agreement with
man, not his equal, but his own creature, and the work of his hands ;
and in promising him a reward for his service, which was due to
God by the law of creation previous to that federal deed, and so
great a reward, even eternal life, between which and the work there
was no proportion.
(4.) For venting his boundless love in the communications of his
goodness to man. For God did not create man or angels because
he needed them, but that there might be proper objects for receiv-
ing the displays of his goodness. Nor did he enter into a covenant
with man from any natural necessity, but on design of communi-
cating his bounty to him, Deut. vii. 7, 8. Ezek. xvi. 8. Though the
Lord might have exacted all that obedience and service from man,
which possibly he could yield, and reduced him into his first nothing
by annihilation at last, or at least not have bestowed everlasting
happiness upon him, not bound himself by covenant whereby he
might expect it ; yet, to shew the greatness of his goodness and love,
he chose a way to reward that service in a most bountiful manner,
which otherwise was due to him.
(5.) For the manifestation of his truth and faithfulness in kee])-
iug covenant with his creature, which could not otherwise have been
OF TIIK COVENAXT OP WORKS. 239
SO gloriously discovered. God had made illustrious displays of Lis
wisdom, power, and goodness, in the creation of all things, and in
that excellent piece of workmanship, man, the chief of his works in
this world ; but his faithfulness and veracity could not have been
known, at least in its effects, without some such transaction.
(6.) That he might be the more cleared and justified in resenting
the injuries done him by the disobedience of his creature, with
whom he had condescended to deal so graciously. For the more
condescension and goodness there is on God's part, the greater in-
gratitude appears on man's part in trampling on the divine good-
ness. But,
2. God condescended to enter into covenant with man for man's
greater good.
(1.) That thereby he might put the higher honour upon him. It
was indeed a very distinguishing respect put upon man to be an ally
of heaven, and the confederate friend of God. If it be an honour for
a mean country peasant to be joined in a formal bond of friendship
with a prince or potentate on earth, how much greater honour and
dignity was it unto man to be joined in a bond of love and friend-
ship with God, the Supreme Monarch of the whole world ?
(2.) To bind him the faster to his duty. The Lord knew man's
mutable state, and how slippery and inconstant the heart of man is,
where confirming grace is not vouchsafed ; therefore, to prevent this
inconstancy incident to man, a finite creature, and to establish him
in his obedience, he laid him under a covenant-obligation to his ser-
vice. Man was bound to obey God by virtue of his creation ; but
his making a covenant with man which he willingly consented to,
was a superadded tie to bind him the faster to his duty. By the
covenant that was made with Adam, he had a kind of help to make
him the more careful to observe the law which was written on his
heart, and a prop to make him stand the more fixed and steady.
For, on the one hand, he was warned of his danger in case of dis-
obedience, that so he might beware of offending God; and, on the
other he was encouraged to serve his Maker with the greater alac-
rity, from the greatness of the reward set before him, and the great-
ness of the punishment threatened in case he should disobey : both
which tended notably to incline him to constancy in his duty.
(3.) That his obedience might be more cheerful, being that unto
which he had willingly tied himself. God chose to rule man by his
own consent, rather than by force. An absolute law might have
extorted obedience from man, but a covenant made it appear more
free and willing. It made man's obedience look as if it were the
result of his own choice, rather than of any obligation lying upon
240 OF THE COVENANT OP WORKS.
hira. This tended much to the honour of God; for one volunteer
that goeth to the war, doth honour the service more than ten sol-
diers pressed by force.
(4.) For his greater comfort and encouragement. By this he
might clearly see what he might expect from God as a reward of his
diligence and activity in his service.
(5.) That he might manifest himself to him, and deal with him
the more familiarly. The dealing by way of covenant is the way of
dealing betwixt man and man that hath least of distance in it, and
most of familiarityj wherein parties come near to each other with
greatest freedom. There is more nearness and familiarity in this
than in any other way whereby God hath expressed his will. It is
a more familiar way than that of commands and precepts, which im-
ports nothing but authority and sovereignty. Yea, it is more
familiar than the way of absolute promises, which might indeed set
forth God's abundant goodness, but not so much God's familiar con-
descension, as the way of a covenant, when so great and so glorious
a Majesty stoops to treat and deal by reciprocal engagements with
so mean a creature as man, who is sprung of dust.
I come now to make some practical improvement of this subject.
1. See here the great and wonderful condescension of God, who
was pleased to stoop so low as to enter into a covenant with his own
creature. Though he is infinitely great and glorious in himself, the
fountain of his own blessedness, the glass of his own beauty, and
the throne of his own glory ; yet he condescended to treat with
mean man in a way of covenant. How astonishing is it that God
should make a covenant with dust and ashes ; and that he should
bind himself to man, to give him life and happiness as the reward
of his obedience, which he owed to God by the law of his creation ?
2. See what a glorious condition man was in when God entered
into a covenant with him. He was placed in a pleasant and de-
lightful place, where he was furnished with every conveniency
he could desire. He was conformed to God in holiness. Light
sparkled in his understanding, sanctity shined in his will, and his
affections were regular and pure. He had familiar intimacy and
communion with his Maker, and conversed as freely with him as a
favourite with his prince. As he enjoyed the light of the sun in
paradise to cherish and refresh his body, so he had the light of
God's countenance to solace and delight his soul. Thus happy was
man : but, ah ! he is now fallen like a star from heaven.
3. See that God is very just in all that comes on man. He set
him up with a good stock, in a noble case, making him his covenant-
party. He gave him the noblest undeserved encouragement to con-
OF THE COVENANT OF AVOEKS. 241
tinue ill his obedience, and told liim Ins hazard if he should disohey.
So that falling he is left without excuse, his misery being entirely
owing to himself.
4. See the deplorable condition of all Adam's posterity by reason
of the breach of this covenant. They are under the curse of the
law, which is an universal curse, and discharges its thunder against
every person who is naturally under that covenant, and has not
changed his state.
5. This serves to humble all flesh, and beat down the pride of all
created glory, under the serious consideration of the great loss we
have sustained by Adam's fall, and the sad effects thereof upon. us.
We have lost all that is good and valuable, the image and favour of
God, and have incurred the wrath and displeasure of a holy God.
6. See the unsearchable riches of divine grace, in providing a
better covenant for the recovery and salvation of fallen man. The
duty of the first covenant is now impossible, and the penalty of it
intolerable. It admits of no repentance, nor accepts of any short
endeavours ; but leaves sinful man as a malefactor in the hands of
the law. Blessed be God for the revelation of the covenant of
grace, wherein life and salvation is freely provided and offered to
fallen man through the obedience and satisfaction of the second
Adam. Well may it be called a covenant of grace : for it came
from the rich and free grace of God, as its true spring ; it is all be-
spangled with gracious promises, as the heavens are with stars ; and
all the blessings contained in it are gratuitous and free, such as men
cannot plead any right or title unto by any merit or works of their
own. When the angels sinned, God expelled them from heaven,
and left them to perish in their misery ; but ho was graciously
pleased to enter into a covenant with his Son, as second Adam, for
the recovery of fallen man, who by his obedience and death hath
fulfilled the law, and suffered the penalty thereof, and thereby made
ample provision for all the wants and miseries of poor sinners.
7. There is no wonder, that however little good is wrought in the
world, yet working to win heaven is so frequent. We have suffi-
cient evidence of the covenant of works being made with man as
a public person, seeing it is yet natural to us to do that we may
live, and to think that God will accept us for our works' sake.
8. See your misery, all ye that are out of Christ. This covenant
is your way to heaven, which is now impossible. Tell not of your
good meanings and desires, your repentance, and your obedience,
such as it is ; and think not to get life, salvation, and acceptance
thereby. For the covenant ye are under admits of no repentance,
no will for the deed. It requires nothing less than perfect obedi-
ence, which ye are incapable to give.
242 OF THE faijL of our first parents.
9. Lnsthf, Tlierofore give over this way of seeking life by tlie
broken covenant of works, and come to the Lord Jesus Christ ; lay
hold on the better covenant, and come up to Christ's chariot. Cant,
iii. 9, 10. which will drive you safely to eternal life and glory.
That chariot which the first Adam drove, went not far till it was all
shattered, and made unfit to carry any to heaven. It breaks with
the weight of the least sin ; and so ye can never think it will drive
to heaven with you, Rom. viii. But come into the chariot of the
covenant of grace, and ye will be safely carried in it to the land of
eternal rest and glory*.
OF THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PARENTS.
Gen. III. 6, 7- — Arid when the woman saw that the tree wa^ good for
food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to he desired to
make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also
unto her husband ivith her, and he did eat. And the eyes of them
both were opened, and they knew that they were naked: and they
sewed fig-leaves together, and inade themselves aprons.
God made man upright, but he sought out many inventions. Man
being in honour, abode not. He soon fell from the happy and holy
state in which he was created.
In the text we have three things to be considered.
1. The fall of our first parents from their state of primitive in-
tegrity ; it was by their both eating of the forbidden fruit, and con-
sequently sinning against God, ver. 6. And they were immediately
sensible that they were fallen from that holy and happy state, ver.
7. This appears two ways. (1.) By their knowledge of their na-
kedness. Some suppose, that their bodies, before their fall, had a
divine glory and lustre on them, which was immediately taken
away when they sinned, and they saw that this beautiful covering
was now gone. Most part of interpreters understand it of their see-
ing their nakedness with grief and shame, from a sense of their
guilt contracted, and of that sinful concupiscence they found now
working in them. Thus the eyes of their minds were opened, which
Satan had blinded before. (2.) By their going about to cover their
' A more full and particular account of the covenant of works may be seen in the
author's treatise on that subject, first published in 1772, being a work composed pos-
terior to these catechetical discourses.
OF TUK FALL OF OUK FIRST PARENTS. 243
bodies with the broad leaves of the fig-tree. All this clearly holds
forth their sense, though it was no holy sense, of their shameful fall.
2. That action by which they fell, their sinning against God, ver.
6, viz. by eating the forbidden fruit. They broke God's express
command, forbidding them, under pain of death, to eat of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil. And immediately after this
wicked deed they saw they were naked.
3. How they fell. They fell of their own free-will being left to
their freedom, A^er. 6. The. woman saw that the tree was good for food,
8fc. There was no force or compulsion here ; all proceeded from
free choice. Their eyes saw the fruit, their hearts coveted it, their
hands took it, and their mouths ate it.
The doctrinal truth deducible from the text is,
DocT. ' Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own
will, fell from the estate wherein they were created by sinning
against God.'
Two things are here to be considered.
I. The fall of our first parents.
II. How or what way they fell.
I. Let us consider the fall of our first parents. And here f will
shew,
1. That man is fallen.
2. Whereby he fell, or what cast him down.
3. What he fell from.
First, I am to shew that man is fallen, and that our first parents
did not continue in the estate wherein they were created, but fell
from it. This is clear,
1. From the express narrative of this fatal event given by Moses,
Gen. iii. from which it appears, that tlie devil entering into a ser-
pent, artfully tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit, in direct
opposition to the express command of God, prohibiting it under a
dreadful penalty ; that she prevailed upon Adam to follow her
example ; that they were both immediately stung with remorse and
horror for what they had done ; and perceiving themselves to be
naked, they fell a-sewing fig-leaves together for a covering to their
bodies ; that hearing the voice of the Lord God in the garden, they
did, as an evidence of their guilt, and of the privation of light in
their minds, hide themselves from the presence of the Lord among
the trees of the garden ; that being called to account for their con-
duct, the woman threw the blame on the serpent, and the man on
the woman ; and that both received sentence from their ofi'endcd
Creator and Judge, expressive of their future misery; though at the
same time God was pleased to give them a revelation of the method
244 OF THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PARENTS.
of salvation by a Redeemer, in the promise respecting the seed of
the woman bruising the serpent's head. All this amounts to a plain
proof that man has fallen from the holy and happy state he was
placed in at his creation.
2. From the doleful experience of their posterity, Rom. v. 12,
' As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so
death passed upon all man, for that all have sinned.' "When we
see the whole race of mankind born beggars, surely we may con-
clude that their father became bankrupt ; for he once had a happy
portion to transmit to his posterity, which he foolishly squandered
away. And the misery attending upon us now, is, that we are pur-
sued for our father's debt as well as our own, without having a far-
thing to pay.
Secondly, We may inquire, How did Adam fall, or what cast him
down ? It was his sinning against God. While our first parents
held with God, they stood ; but when they departed from him,
they fell. What their sin was more particularly, will fall to be
shewn afterwards. They thought to rise by their sin, affecting to be
as gods. Gen. iii. 5, 6. but it was their ruin. Seeking more they lost
what they had.
Thirdlt/, It may be asked, What did they fall from ? The state
wherein they were created. Now, this was a state of the greatest
holiness and felicity. When they sinned,
1. They fell from a holy into a sinful state. They lost the image
of God. Observe the opposition betwixt the image of God and that
of Adam, Gen. v. 1, 3. There we are told, 'that God made man in
his own likeness,' or image ; and that Adam beget a son ' in his own
likeness,' even Seth, from whom the whole human race is sprung.
Sin was a turning from God as their chief end, and making them-
selves their chief end; whereby all their uprightness behoved to
be lost. It broke the whole law of God at one touch, and violently
struck against God and man's neighbour, that is, his posterity ; and
so could not but waste and defile the conscience. This was the
sense of the threatening, ' In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou
shalt surely die.' And in this unholy state are all born of the first
man.
(1.) They lost their knowledge, and fell under horrible blindness.
Witness their fig-leaf cover for shrouding their nakedness, and their
hiding themselves from the presence of the Lord, Gen. iii. 7, 8. A
plain indication of their falling into dreadful ignorance of the Di-
vine Being, the opposite of that great knowledge they had of him in
their primitive state of integrity.
(2.) They lost the righteousness of their will, Eccl. vii. 29. And
OP THE FALL OF OUU FIRST PARENTS. 245
they fell under an aversion to God. Witness their running away
from him, ver. 8. their excusing their sin, transferring the guilt every
one off themselves, till it landed at length on God himself, ver. 12.
(3.) They lost the holiness of their affections, which immediately
fell into confusion and disorder. Witness their covering their na-
kedness. While they were innocent, though naked, they were not
ashamed ; but that jewel being gone, the irregularity of their affec-
tions began to appear in discovering themselves to be naked, by the
evil operation of concupiscence in their minds.
2. They fell from their happy state into a miserable one. 0 what
a fearful overturn was made by their sin.
(1.) Horror of conscience seizes them, ver. 8. appearing in flying
from the divine presence ; which nothing but guilt, clasping as a
serpent about them, could have induced them to do. Death was
threatened in case of transgression. Gen. ii. 17. They both died spi-
ritually, and were bound with the cords of temporal and eternal
death.
(2.) They are driven out of paradise, excommunicated and de-
clared incapable of communion with God in the tree of life in the
garden, Gen. iii.. 23. ' The Lord God sent him forth from the gar-
den of Eden,' as a divorced woman out of the house of her husband,
as the word signifies. Nay, God drove out the man, expelling him
from that pleasant and delightful place, which he had forfeited by
his transgression, ver. 24.
(3.) The woman, the first transgressor, is condemned to sorrow
and pain in breeding, bearing, and bringing forth children, ver. 16.
which, as some observe, is greater in women than other creatures.
And frequently women lose their lives in the case.
(4.) She is put under a yoke of subjection to her husband, ver. 16.
Not but that the woman was subject to him before, but it was to a
gentle and loving guide : but now all her desires are subjected to
her husband, to grant them or deny them as he sees fit, because she
ate of the forbidden fruit without asking his advice, which now, be-
cause of his and her corruption, becomes a heavy yoke.
(5.) The ground is cursed for man's sake ; under the influence of
which curse it is barren of wholesome fruits, which it does not yield
without heavy labour and diligent cultivation, but fruitful in nox-
ious plants, as thorns and thistles, ver. 17-
(6.) Man is condemned to singular anxiety, to weary, toilsome,
and ofttimes fruitless labour, whether it be the labour of the hands
or of the mind, ver. 17, 19. ; for this last is to be taken into the ac-
count too, as appears from Eccl. i. 13, 18. ' I gave my heart (says
the preacher), to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all
246 OF THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PARENTS.
things that are done under heaven : this sore travail hath God given
to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. For in much -wisdom
is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.'
II. Jjet us next consider, how or what way upright man fell. It
was so that our first parents sinned, being left to the freedom of
their own will. For understanding of this let us consider the fol-
lowing things.
1. That our first parents had a freedom of will. Freedom of will
is a liberty in the will, whereby of its own accord, freely and spon-
taneously, without any force upon it, it chuses or refuses what is
proj>osed to it by the understanding. And this freedom of will man
hath in whatever state he be. But there is a great diff'erence of the
freedom of the will in the difi'erent states of man. In the natural
corrupt state, man has a free will only to evil, Gren. vi. 5. ' Every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart is only evil continually.'
Eph. ii. 1. ' He is dead in trespasses and sins.' He freely chuseth
evil without any force on his will ; and he cannot do otherwise, be-
ing under the bondage of sin. In the state of grace, man has a free-
will, partly to good and partly to evil. Hence the apostle says,
Rom. vii. 22, 24. ' I delight in the law of God after, the inward man.
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of
my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is
in my members.' In this state the will sometimes chuses that which
is good, and sometimes that which is evil. This freedom of will is
in all regenerate persons who have in some measure recovered the
image of God. They chuse good freely by virtue of a principle of
grace wrought in them by the sanctifying operations of the Divine
Spirit ; yet through the remainders of corruj)tion that abides in
them, their wills are sometimes inclined to that which is evil. In
the state of glory, man has a free will to good only. In this state
the blessed chuse good freely ; and being confirmed in a holy state,
they cannot sin.
The freedom of will that man had in the state of innocence was
different from all these. In that state he had a freedom of will
both to good and evil ; and so had a power wholly to chuse good, or
wholly to chuse evil : which difterences it from the freedom of will
in the state of grace. He had a free will to good, yea, the natural
set of his will was to good only, Eccl. vii. 29. being ' made upright ;'
but it was liable to change through the power of temptation, and so
free to evil also, as mournful experience has evidenced. Man was
created holy and righteous, and received a power from God con-
stantly to persevere in goodness, if he would ? yet the act of perse-
verance was left to the choice and liberty of his own will. To
OF THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PAREXTS. 247
illustrate this a little, we may observe some resemblance of it in
nature. God creates the eye, says one, and puts into it the faculty
of seeing, and withal he adds to the eye necessary helps by the light
of the sun. As for the act of seeing, it is left to man's liberty ; for
he may see if he will, and if he will he may shut his eyes. The
physician, again, by his art procures an appetite, and provides con-
venient food for the patient : but the act of eating is in the plea-
sure of the patient ; for he may eat, or abstain from it if he will.
Thus God gave Adam strength and power to persevere in righte-
ousness, but the will he left to himself.
Let no man quarrel, that God made Adam liable to change in
his goodness ; for if he had been unchangeably holy, he behoved to
be so either by nature or by free grace ; if by nature, that were to
make him God ; if of free grace, then there was no wrong done him
in with-holding what was not due. And he would have got the
grace of confirmation, if he had stood the time of his trial.
Secondly, God left our first parents to the freedom of their own
will ; and was in no respect the cause of their falling.
1. The Lord did not withdraw any of that strength and ability
which he had be&towed upon them in their creation. There was no
subtraction of any grace that was requisite for their standing. God
is not like man to give and recal again ; for his gifts are without
repentance. Adam left God before he was forsaken by him.
2. The Lord did not infuse any vicious inclinations into man.
There was no internal impulsion from God, exciting him to eat the
forbidden fruit. He neither moved him to sin, nor approved of it,
but forbade it under the severest penalty. It is altogether incon-
sistent with the divine purity to incline the creature to sin. As
God cannot be tempted to evil, neither tempteth he any man. It is
extremely injurious to his infinite wisdom to think, that he would
deface and spoil that admirable work which he had composed with
so much design and counsel. And it is highly dishonourable to his
immense goodness. He loved his creature, the master piece of his
works ; and love is an inclination to do good. It was impossible
therefore, that God should induce man to sin, or withdraw that
power from him which was necessary to resist the temptation, when
the consequence must be his inevitable ruin.
But by their being left to the freedom of their own will, we are to
understand God's with-holding of that further grace (which he was
nowise bound to give them) that would have infallibly prevented
their falling into sin. God only i^ermittcd this fall. No doubt he
could have hindered either Satan to tempt, or man to have yielded ;
but in his holy wise providence, without which a sparrow cannot
248 OF THE FALL OF OUU FIRST PARENTS.
fall, far less all mankind, he permitted Satan to tempt, that is, he
did not hinder him, which he was not obliged to do. It was in
man's power to continue in his obedience or not. God was not
obliged to hinder his fall. As he brings light out of darkness, order
out of confusion and life out of death, so he knew how to bring good
out of evil, and glory to himself out of man's fall. Adam's fall
,was perfectly voluntary ; his own will was the sole cause of it, as
will plainly appear, if you consider.
(1.) That while he continued innocent, he had a sufficient power
to persevere in his holy state. God created him with a perfection
of grace. If he had pleased, he might have effectually resisted the
temptation and continued stedfast in his duty to God ; and God was
under no obligation to give him that further actual grace which
would have effectually kept him up. And this grace he was bound
neither to give nor continue with him.
(2.) That the devil did only allure, he could not ravish his con-
sent. Though his malice be infinite, yet his power is restrained and
limited by the omnipotent hand of Jehovah, that he cannot fasten
an immediate, much less an irresistible, impression on the will. He
therefore made use of an external object to invite man to sin. Now,
objects have no constraining force : they are but partial agents, and
derive all their efficacy from the faculty unto which they are agree-
able. And although now, in our fallen state, sin hath so disordered
the flesh, that there is great difficulty in resisting those objects that
pleasantly insinuate themselves } yet, in the state of innocence,
there was such an universal rectitude in Adam, and so entire a sub-
jection of the sensual appetite to the superior power of reason, that
he might have obtained an easy conquest. A resolute negative had
made him victorious ; by a strong denial, he had baffled that proud
spirit.
(3.) That Adam's disobedience was the effect of his own choice.
For a specious object was conveyed through the unguarded sense to
his fancy, and from that to his understanding, which, by a vicious
careless neglecting to consider the danger, commended it to the will,
and that resolved to embrace it. Now, it is plain and undeni-
able, that the action which resulted from the direction of the mind,
and the choice of the will, was absolutely free. Besides, as the re-
gret that is mixed with an action is a certain character that the
person is under restraint ; so the delight that attends it is a clear
evidence that he is free. When the appetite is drawn by the lure
of pleasure, the more violent, the more voluntary is its motion.
Now, the representation of the forbidden fruit was under the notion
of pleasure : The woman saiv that the fruit luas good for food, (that
OF THE FALL OP OUR FIRST PARENTS. 2-i9
is, pleasurable to the palate), pleasant to the eye, and to be desired to
make one wise, that is, to increase knowledge, which is the pleasure
of the mind ; and these allectives drew her into the snare. Man
was under no necessity to sin. Force and co-action are inconsistent
with the nature of the will, and entirely destroys it. Adam might
have continued in his obedience if he had pleased. The devil had
no power over him to disturb his felicity. He prevailed against
him by simple suasion.
Thirdly, The devil tempted our first parents to sin. The devil in
the serpent set on man while he stood. Where observe,
1. It was a true serpent which the devil appeared in. What
sort of a serpent it was, is not determined : but it seems to have
been a beautiful creature of a shining colour : for in Dent. viii. 15.
there are serpents spoken of that are in the Hebrew called Seraphim,
the very name given to angels, which were wont to appear in a
splendid form, it may be like these seraphim ; and so Eve might
take the serpent for one of these good angels. But Moses' plain
historical narrative leaves no room to doubt that it was a real ser-
pent, representing it to be more subtile than any boast of the field,
and as cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field,
after the transgression, when it was condemned to go upon its belly,
and to eat dust all the days of its life, Gen. iii. 1, 14. And it is
known that the Egyptians, by the devil's instigation, worshipped
serpents. And in the old Greek mysteries they used to carry about
a serpent, and cry Evah : A sign of the extraordinary service it had
done to the devil.
2. Though Moses makes no mention of the devil in this aflfair, yet
surely he was the prime instrument in this fatal seduction. For
seeing serpents cannot speak, and far less reason, we may easily
conclude it was the devil, who therefore is called ' the old serpent,
and a liar and murderer from the beginning,' John viii. 44. See
Gen. iii. 15. Compare Heb. ii. 14. Tlie devil then, one, perhaps
the chief, of those rebellious spirits, who by a furious ambition had
raised a war in heaven, and were fallen from their obedience and
glorious state, designing to corrupt man, and make him a companion
with them in their revolt, set about this work, urged by two strong
and powerful passions, hatred and envy.
(1.) The devil was prompted to this action by an implacable
hatred against God. For being fallen under a final and irrevocable
doom, he looked upon God as an irreconcileable enemy ; and not
being able to injure his essence, he struck at his image ; as the fury
of some beast discharges itself at the picture of a man. He singled
out Adam as the mark of his malice, that, by seducing him from his
250 OF THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PARENTS.
duty, he might defeat God's design, which was to be honoured by
man's free and cheerful obedience ; and so to eclipse the lustre of
his excellencies as though he had made man in vain.
(2.) He was solicited by envy, the first native of hell. For hav-
ing lost the friendship and favour of God, and being cast out of
heaven, the happy region of blessedness and joy, the sight of Adam's
felicity highly exasperated and accented his grief, that man, who
by the condition of his nature was inferior to him, should be prince
of the world, and the special friend and favourite of heaven, whilst
he himself was a miserable prisoner, under those fatal chains which .
restrained and tormented him, the power and the wrath of God.
This made his state and condition more intolerable. His torment
was incapable of any allay, but by rendering man as miserable as
himself. And as hatred excited his envy, so envy inflamed his
hatred, and both joined together in mischief. And being thus
pushed on, his subtilty being equal to his malice, he contrives a
temptation which might be most taking and dangerous to man in his
raised and happy state. As soon as Adam was invested with all
his glory, the devil, as it were, would dethrone him on the day of
his coronation, and bring both him and all his posterity under a
curse. Here I shall consider the temptation which was the occasion
of man's fall, and the devil's subtilty in managing it.
1. As to the temptation itself, it was very suitable and promis-
ing. The devil attempted to seduce him by art, in his propounding
the lure of knowledge and pleasure, to inveigle the spiritual and
sensitive appetites at once. There were three things in which the
desirableness of this fruit was represented, which sets forth the
great art and sagacity of Satan.
(1.) Its agreeableness to the palate. It is said, The woman saw
the fruit that it was good for food. Satan told her that it was of a
most sweet and delicious taste, and would highly gratify her sensual
appetite.
(2.) It was pleasant to the eye ; a charming and beautiful fruit,
which had an inviting aspect.
(3.) There was a desirableness in it to the rational appetite. It
was a tree to he desired to make one wise. And the serpent told her,
ver. 5. that, upon eating it, their eyes should he opened, and they
should he as gods, knowing good and evil. He made Eve believe,
that, upon her eating the fruit of that tree, she would be raised and
elevated from the human to a kind of divine nature and condition.
This was the temptation with which the devil assaulted our first pa-
rents in paradise, and prevailed against them.
2. I shall take notice of Satan's subtilty in managing this temp-
OF THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PARENTS. 251
tation. We read of his wiles in scripture ; and indeed they are
worse than his darts.
(1.) That he might the better succeed in his hellish design, he ad-
dressed himself to the woman, the weakest person, and most liable
to seduction. He reckoned, and that justly enough, that his at-
tempt would be most successful here, and that she was less able to
resist him. He broke over the hedge where it was weakest. He
knew very well that he could more easily insinuate and wind him-
self into her by a temptation. An old experienced soldier, when he
is to storm and enter a castle, observes carefully where there is a
breach, or how he may enter with most facility : so did Satan here
when he assaulted Eve, the weaker vessel. And he tempted the
woman first, because he knew, if once he could prevail with her, she
would easily entice and draw on her husband. Satan knew very
well, that a temptation coming to Adam from Eve, his wife, in this
the infancy of 'their married state, would be more prevailing and
less suspected. Sometimes near relations prove strong temptations.
A wife may be a snare, when she dissuades her husband from his
duty, or entices him to sin. It is said of Ahab, 1 Kings xxi. 25.
that ' there was none like unto him, which did sell himself to work
wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred
up.' She blew the coals, and made his sin flame out with the
greater violence. Satan discovered his great subtilty in tempting
Adam by his wife ; for he with complacency received the tempta-
tion, and, by the enticement of this old serpent, committed adultery
with the creature, from whence the cursed race of sin and all
miseries proceed.
(2.) He assaulted her when alone, in the absence of her husband,
and so did the more easily prevail. For * two are better than one ;'
and, as Solomon observes, ' a threefold cord is not easily broken.'
Had Adam been present at this fatal congress, it is like the attempt
had not been so easily successful.
(3.) The devil's subtilty may be seen here in hiding himself in the
body of a serpent, which, before sin entered into the world was not
terrible to Eve. Satan crept into a serpent, and spake in it, as the
angel did afterwai'ds in Balaam's ass. She was not afraid of this
apparition ; for she knew no guilt, and therefore was not subject to
any fear. She might look upon this as one of the angels or blessed
spirits, which, as they used after this to appear in the shape of men,
why might not one of them appear now, and converse with her in
the shape of a beautiful serpent; why might not she freely dis-
course with this, which she reckoned one of those good angels, to
whose care and tuition both she and her husband Avere committed ?
n 9
252 OF TUE FALL OF OUK FIRST PAnENTS.
For we may suppose the fall of the angels was not yet revealed to
her, and she thought this to be a good spirit, otherwise she would
certainly have declined all conversation with an apostate angel.
Some have supposed, and that not very improbably, that more dis-
course passed between the serpent and Eve than is recorded. Gen.
iii. and represent the matter thus : The serpent, catching the oppor-
tunity of the woman's being at a distance from her husband, makes
his address to her with a short speech, saluting her as empress of
the world, and giving her a great many encomiums and dignifying
titles : She wonders, and inquires what this meant ? and whether he
was not a brute creature ? and how he came to be endowed with un-
derstanding and speech ? The serpent replies, that he was nobler
than a brute, and did indeed once want both these gifts ; but by
eating a certain fruit in this garden, he had got both. She immedi-
ately asks what fruit and tree that was which had such a surprising
influence and virtue. "Which when he had shewe'd her, she re-
plied, This no doubt is an excellent fruit, but God hath strictly for-
bidden us the use of it. To which the serpent j>resently replies, as
in the close of ver. 1, ' Yea, hath God said. Ye shall not eat of
every tree of the garden V The way how these words are intro-
duced plainly shews that something had passed previous thereto.
And some suppose, that the serpent, to confirm the truth of his
assertion, pulled off" some of the fruits of the tree, ate one in her
presence, and presented another to Eve, who, before eating it, had
the discourse with the serpent recorded in the subsequent verses.
(4.) The devil's subtilty appears in accosting our first parents so
early, before they were confirmed in their course of obedience. The
holy angels in heaven are fully confirmed in righteousness and holi-
ness ; they are called morning stars ; Job xxxviii. 7- and are all
fixed, not wandering stars. But our first parents were not con-
firmed in their obedience, they were not yet fixed in their orb of
holiness. Though they had a possibility of standing, yet they had
not an impossibility of falling. They were holy but mutable. It
was possible for them to change their state. Now, Satan's subtilty
was eminently manifested here.
(5.) He first allures with the hope of impunity, and then he pro-
mises an universal knowledge of good and evil.
(1.) He persuades Eve, that though she did eat of the forbidden
tree, yet she should not die, ver. 4. ' Ye shall not surely die.' 'God
indeed did say so for your terror, to keep you in awe. But do not
entertain such hard and unworthy thoughts of that God who is in-
finitely good and gracious. Do not think that, for such a trifle as
the eating of a little fruit, he will undo you and all your posterity
OT" THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PAEEN^TS. 253
for ever, and so suddenly destroy the most excellent piece of his
own ATorkmanship, wherein his image shines in a most resplendent
manner.'
(2.) He promiseth them an universal knowledge, as the eflfect of
eating this fruit, ver. 5. ' For God doth know, that in the day ye
eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened : and ye shall be as
gods, knowing good and evil.' ' God's design in that prohibition is
only this: He knows that you shall be so far from dying, that
thereby you shall certainly be entered into a new and more noble
and excellent kind of life. The eyes of your understanding, which
are now shut in a great measure as to the knowledge of many things,
shall then be wide opened, and ye shall see more clearly and dis-
tinctly than now you do. You shall be as God, and shall attain to
a kind of omniscience.'
(6.) Satan's subtilty was manifested here, in assaulting Eve's
faith. He would persuade her, that God had not spoken truth in
that threatening. He managed the whole business with a lie ; yea,
he adds one lie to another. ' Ye shall not surely die,' says he ; and
then he represents God as envying our first parents that great hon-
our and happiness that was attainable by them, ver. 5. and himself
as one that wished their happiness, and would tell her how to arrive
at it ; and alleges they might easily understand, by the very name
of the tree, the truth of what he says to her. ' It is (says he) be-
cause God envies your felicity that he hath forbidden you the use of
this tree. But know ye, if ye eat of it, ye shall be as gods.' Here
was subtilty indeed. The devil was first a liar, and then a mur-
derer. This was Satan's master-piece to weaken her faith ; for
when he had shaken that, and brought her once to distrust, then
she was easily overcome : and presently put forth her hand to pluck
the forbidden fruit. By these pretences he ruined innocence itself :
for the woman being deceived by these allectives, swallowed down
the poison of the serpent ; and having tasted death herself, she be-
took herself to her husband, and persuaded him by the same means
to despise the law of their Creator.
Thus sin made its entrance into the world, and brought an uni-
versal confusion into it. For the moral harmony of the world con-
sisting in the just subordination of the several ranks of beings to
one another, and of all to God, when man, who was placed next to
him, broke the union, his fall brought a desperate disorder into
God's government. And though the matter of the oifence may seem
small, yet the disobedience was infinitely great ; it being the trans-
gression of that command which was given to be the real proof of
man's subjection to God. The honour and majesty of the whole law
r3
254 OF THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PARENTS.
was violated in the breach of that symbolical precept. But this
will fall to be more fully illustrated in a subsequent discourse.
Fourthly, Man being thus left to the freedom of his own will,
abused his liberty in complying with the temptation, and freely
apostatised from God. And so man himself, and he only, was the
true and proper cause of his own sinning. Not God, for he is un-
changeably holy ; not the devil, for he could only tempt, not force :
therefore man himself only is to blame, Eccl. vii. 29. ' God made
man upright, but they have sought out many inventions.'
I shall conclude this subject with a few inferences.
1. Hence see the great weakness, yea the nothingness of the crea-
ture when left to itself. When Adam was in the state of integrity,
he quickly made a defection from God, he soon lost the robe of his
primitive innocence, and all the blessedness of paradise. If our na-
ture was so weak when at the best, then how miserably weak is it
now when it is at its worst ? If Adam did not stand when he was
perfectly holy and righteous, how unable are we to stand when sin
has entirely disabled us ? If purified nature could not resist the
temptation, but was quite overturned at the first blast, how shall
corrupt nature stand, when besieged and stormed with a long suc-
cession of strong and violent assaults ? If Adam in a few hours
sinned himself out of paradise, 0 how quickly would even those who
are regenerated sin themselves into hell, if they were not preserved
by a greater power than their own ; nay ' kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation ?' God left some of the angels to
themselves, and they turned devils ; and he left innocent Adam,
and he fell into a gulf of misery. May we not then much more say,
' Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall ;' especially seeing we
have a violent bent and strong propensity of heart and will to go
away from God, which Adam had not.
2. There is no reason to blame God for the misery of the fall.
He gave man sufiicient power and ability to stand if he would, pro-
mised a large reward to excite his obedience, and severely threatened
disobedience : but man would needs try experiments to make his
case better than God made it ; and so fell by his own inventions.
The fault then was his own, he alone was culpable, and he was the
author of his own ruin.
3. Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. You see
that you have to do with an impudent devil, who is still going about
seeking whom he may devour. No state, while ye are in this world,
can secure you from his temptations. Though ye be in a state of
reconciliation and friendship with God, ye are not secure from his
assaults. No place, though it were a paradise, can protect you. He
OF THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PARENTS. 255
lias malice enough to push you on to the most atrocious sins ;
subtilty and experience, acquired by hellish art in the course of
some thousand years, to suit his baits so as they may best take with
you. Do not parley with the tempter : listening to him may bring
on doubting, and doubting may bring on the denial of God's truths,
and so end in full compliance with his horrid temptations, as it did
with our first mother.
4. If Adam fell so soon after he was created, and could not be
his own keeper, then certainly he can much less be his own saviour.
If he could not preserve himself from falling into the gulf, much
less can he pull himself out of it again. "We are by nature without
strength, and have no inclination to that which is good ; and there-
fore God must work powerfully and efficaciously in us. We can-
not break the chains and knock off the fetters of sin and Satan, by
which we are held. "We can make no reparation to the honour of
God for the wrongs and indignities we have done him. To Christ
alone we must be indebted for all this. We have destroyed our-
selves, but in him is our help.
5. There is no justification by the works of the law. Adam
broke the covenant of works, and so rendered it impracticable for
him or his posterity to attain to life and happiness by it. For it is
written, ' Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which
are written in the book of the law to do them,' Gal. iii. 10. ' As
many as are of the works of the law are under the curse.' The
law requires a perfect spotless righteousness, but the best righteous-
ness of fallen man is but filthy rags. It is not only torn and
ragged, but polluted and defiled. We have all sinned and come
short of the glory of God : and there is no possibility of obtaining
justification by the works of the law now ; ' for by the works of the
law (says Paul) shall no flesh be justified.'
6. Lastly, See your absolute need of Christ ; for there is no other
name under heaven given among men, whereby ye can be saved.
Go not about to establish a righteousness of your own, or to seek to
get to heaven by any works of your own. That is indeed still the
thing man aims at. First he sins, and then, like Adam, sets to
work to cover himself with a cover of his own making, to procure a
title to eternal life by his own works. But is it easier to recover
yourselves from the ruins of the fall, than to stand while yet in an
innocent and upright state ? Have ye gathered strength by sinning,
and are ye able to walk to heaven on your own legs ? Come then
to Christ, who by his obedience and death hath procured a righte-
ousness which alone can stand you in stead, and by which alone you
can obtain a right to eternal life. You must then either come to
Christ, or perish for ever.
256 OF SIN IN GENERAL.
OF SIN IN GENERAL.
1 JOHN III. 4. — Sin is the transgression of the law.
In these words we have an answer to that question, ' What is sin ?'
It is a transgression of the law : for ' where no law is, there is no
transgression,' Rom. iv. 15. But because the word transgression
seems to import something positive and actual, therefore it is added
in the Catechism, it is a ' want of conformity unto the law,' which is
a more general definition : and this meaning the word in the ori-
ginal most properly bears. Hence both a want of conformity unto
the law of God, and a transgression of it, are taken into the descrip-
tion ; and in effect they are both one thing.
In the further illustration of this subject, it will be proper to
shew,
I. What that law is whereof sin is the trangression.
II. Wlierein the nature of sin consists.
III. Wherein the evil thereof lies.
IV. Deduce a few inferences.
I. I am to shew what is that law whereof sin is the transgression.
It is the law of God, even any law of his whereby he lays any duty
upon any of the children of men, whether it be the natural law
which is written even in the hearts of all men, Rom. ii. 15. or the
revealed law and will of God, written in the Bible, whether it be
the law strictly so called, or the gospel, whose great command is to
believe in Christ ; the transgression of which command is the great
sin of the hearers of the gospel. In a word, the law of which sin is
the transgression, is any law or command of God which he obliges
us to obey. More particularly,
1. There is a law engraven upon the hearts of men by nature,
which was in force long before the promulgation of the law from
Mount Sinai. This is the light of reason, and the dictates of natu-
ral conscience concerning those moral principles of good and evil,
which have an essential equity in them, and shew man his duty to
God, to his neighbour, and to himself. There is a law in all men
by nature, which is a rule of good and evil. They have notions of
right and wrong in their consciences; which is evident by those
laws which are common in all nations for the preservation of human
society, the encouraging of virtue, and discouraging of vice. These
laws are to be found among men who have not the benefit of divine
revelation for regulating their lives. Now, what standard else can
they have for these but common reason, and the light of nature ?
OF SIN IN GENERAL. 257
Every son and daughter of Adam brings with them into the world
a law in their breast ; and when reason clears up itself from the
clouds of sense, they can distinguish between good and evil, between
things which ought to be done, and things which they should avoid.
Every man finds a law in his heart that checks and rebukes when
he offends, and cherishes and encourages him when he does good.
None are without a legal indictment and a legal execution within
themselves, Rom. ii. 14, 15.
2. There is another law which was given to the Jewish nation by
the ministry of Moses. This is spoken of by Christ, John xvii. 19.
' Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the
law ? By this we are to understand the whole system of divine pre-
cepts concerning ceremonial rites, judicial processes, and moral
duties. Accordingly there was a threefold law given by Moses.
(1.) The ceremonial law, which was a certain system of divine
positive precepts, with relation to the external worship of Grod. It
was wholly taken up in enjoining those observances of sacrifices and
ofterings, and various methods of purifications and cleansings which
were typical of Christ, and of that sacrifice of his which alone was
able to take away sin.
(2.) The judicial law consisted of those institutions which God
prescribed the Jews for their civil government. For, whereas, in
other commonwealths, the chief magistrates give laws unto the
people ; in this the laws for their religion and for their civil go-
vernment were both divine, and both immediately from God. So
that the judicial law was given them to be the standing law of their
nation, according to which all actions and suits between party and
party were to be tried and determined ; as in all other nations there
are particular laws and statutes for the decision of controversies
that may arise among men.
3. There is the moral law which is a system or body of those pre-
cepts which carry an universal and natural equity in them, being so
conformable to the light of reason, and the dictates of every man's
conscience, that as soon as ever they are declared and understood,
we must needs subscribe to the justice and righteousness of them.
We have the sura of this law in the ten commandments. This law
continues in its full force and power, obliging the conscience as a
standing rule for our obedience. Our Lord tells us, Matt. v. 17.
that ' he came not to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfil
them.' The ceremonial law was abolished by the death of Christ,
and the judicial law, so far as it concerned the nation of the Jews
as a commonwealth and body politic, particularly touching their not
marrying out of their own tribes, their not alienating the inheri-
258 OF SIN IN GENERAL.
tance of their fathers, the raising up of seed to their deceased bro-
ther, &c., but sucli of these political laws as are common to men in
general, and founded upon the law of nature, are still binding and
in force, such as the laws for punishing criminals and other olfeud-
ers, the laws against oppressing of widows, orphans, strangers, the
fatherless, &c. These are a standing rule of equity and justice ;
they are of a moral nature, and therefore of perpetual obligation.
So that the law of which sin is the transgression, is to us the law of
nature in our hearts, and the moral law contained in the scriptures,
and summed up in the decalogue, as well as the positive laws of the
gospel of Christ.
II. I proceed to shew wherein the nature of sin consists. It con-
sists in a want of conformity to the law of God, or a disconformity
thereto. The law of God is the rule ; whatsoever is over this rule,
is sin. The law of God is set as a mark to us ; and so the word ^m,
in the first language properly signifies a not hitting the mark ; and
transgression is a swerving from the right line, or a going oft' the
way. So it is called ' a going aside,' Psal. xiv. 3. Now, nothing
is conformable to the law which is not perfectly so ; for if it be in
the least disagreeable thereto, it is not conformable to it, more than
that which wants half an inch of an ell is truly an ell of measure ;
and therefore any want of that conformity is sin. The law of God
requires universal conformity to it. Now the law or command of
God requires a twofold conformity.
1. A conformity of the heart to it. It reaches the inward man,
seeing God is a spirit, and that omniscient One who knows the
heart; and the whole heart must be subject to him. Therefore our
Saviour says, Mark xii. 30. ' Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and
with all thy strength.'
2. A conformity of the life both in words and deeds. Hence says
David, Psal. xxiv. 3, 4. ' Who shall ascend into the hill of the
Lord ? and who shall stand in his holy place ? He that hath clean
hands and a pure heart ; who hath not lift up his soul unto vanity,
nor sworn deceitfully.' And forasmuch as the law requires some
things, and forbids other things both in heart and life, the want of
conformity to it in these respects, either in heart or life, is sin.
Hence we may infer,
1. Sin is no positive being, but a want of due perfection, a defect,
an imperfection in the creature ; and therefore it is, (1.) Not from
God, but from the creature itself. (2.) It is not a thing to glory in,
more than the want of all things. (3.) It is a thing we have reason
to be humbled for, and have great need to have removed. (4.) It is
OF SIN IN GENERAL. 259
not a thing to be desired, but fled from and abhorred, as the abo-
minable thing which God hatcth.
2. Original sin is truly and properly sin. Look to yourselves
as you came into the world, and ye must smite on your breast, be-
fore ye have sucked the breasts, and say, ' God be merciful to me a
sinner.' For we come into it with Adam's sin imputed, Rom. v.
12. stript of original righteousness, and the whole nature corrupted.
This is the sin of our nature, being a want of conformity in our
souls to the law of God, which requires all moral perfection of us,
Matth. V. ult. ' Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which
is in heaven is perfect.' Instead of which we have a bent of soul
quite contrary to the law, Rom. viii. 7- ' The carnal mind is enmity
against God : for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
can be.'
3. The first motions of sin, and the risings of that natural cor-
ruption in us, before it be completed with the consent of the will to
the evil motion, are truly and properly sin. The apostle calls this
lust, and distinguishes it from sin, L e. the sin of our nature, and
from the consent to it and execution of it, which he calls ' obeying
these lusts,' Rom. vi. 12. and tells us that it is condemned by the
law, Rom. vii. 7. Therefore a thing may be our sin, though we
know it not to be so, 1 Tim. i. 13. and though it be not our will, yea
though against our will, Rom. vii. 16. For it is neither our know-
ledge, or opinion, nor our will, but the law of God, that is the rule.
4. All consent of the heart to and delight in motions towards
things forbidden by the law of God are sins, though these never
break forth into action, but die where they were born in the inmost
corners of our hearts, Matth. v. 28. ' Whosoever shall look on a
woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already
in his heart.' Speculative filthiness is a disconformity to the law.
There is heart murder as well as actual murder, ver. 22.
5. All omissions of the internal duties we owe to God and our
neighbours are sins, as want of love to God or our neighbours.
"Want of due fear of God, trust and hope in him, &c. are internal
sins of omission.
6. Hence a man sins by undue silence and undue speaking, when
the cause of God and truth require it ; seeing the law bids us speak
in some cases, but never speak what is not good.
7. Hence also a man's sins, when he omits outward duties that
are incumbent on him to perform, as well as when he commits sin of
whatever kind in his life.
8. Lastly, The least failure in any duty is sin ; and whatever
comes not up in perfection to the law is sinful. And therefore we
260 OF SIN IN GENERAL.
sin in every thing we do, and onr best duties deserve damnation,
and cannot be accei)ted according to the law. "Wherefore the duties
of wicked men are absolutely rejected, seeing they are under the
law ; and the duties of the godly are no otherwise accepted, but as
washed in the blood of Christ, which takes away the sin cleaving to
them.
Further, nothing can be a sin but what is a transgressing of the
law of God, who only is Lord over the conscience. Therefore, if
there be no law of God in the case, there is no transgression affec-
ting the conscience. But it must be considered, that the law of God
commands some things expressly, and others things by good conse-
quence. No law of God commands a servant expressly to do such
and such a particular piece of work that is lawful, which he is bid-
den do by his master ; but the law of God says, ' Servants, obey
your masters ;' and therefore it is sin if he do not that work. The
case is the same as to men's laws. Therefore the apostle says, Eom.
xiii. 5. ' Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath,
but also for conscience sake.' Now, men's laws are either contrary
to God's laws, or agreeable and subservient thereto, as being for
the glory of God, or the good of the nation in general. As to the
first of these, ye cannot obey without sin, as if the Queen and Par-
liament should command you to receive human ceremonies in the
worship of God. As to other things that are good and just, we are
obliged to obey, as is clear from Rom. xiii. ; and therefore the con-
science is not altogether unconcerned in the laws of men. And
therefore, if ye would be tender Christians, before ye go against the
laws of the land, consider well whether their commands be unlawful,
or whether they be such as are good and just ; for doubtless magis-
trates have a power to make laws for the good of the land in gen-
eral ; and what they so make we are obliged to respect, otherwise
we contemn the ordinance of God, and regard not the good of our
neighbour, and thereby sin against God ; as is acknowledged in the
case of those that now export grain, to the general distress of the
country. And I apprehend, that if we would lay the case home to
ourselves, we would have less liberty than we have in some things
that are not scrupled at,
III. I come now to shew wherein the evil of sin lies. It lies,
1. And principally, in the wrong done to God, and its contra-
riety, (1.) To his nature, which is altogether holy. Hence the
Psalmist says, Psal. li. 4. ' Against thee, thee only have I sinned,
and done this evil in thy sight.' David had exceedingly wronged
Uriah in defiling his wife, and procuring the death of himself; yet
he considers his great sin in that matter as chiefly against God, and
OF SIN IN GENEKAIi. 261
contrary to his holy nature. (2.) In its contrariety to God's will
and law, which is a sort of a copy of his nature. And God being all
good, and the chief good, sin must needs be a sort of infinite evil.
2. In the wrong it doth to ourselves : ' He that sinneth against
me,' says the personal Wisdom of God, ' wrongeth his own soul,'
Prov. viii. 36. For, (1.) It leaves a stain and spiritual pollution
on the soul, whereby it becomes filthy and vile ; and therefore sin is
called filthiness, and is said to defile the soul, whereupon follows
God's loathing the sinner, Isa. i. 15. and shame and confusion on
the sinner himself, Gen. iii. 7- (2.) It brings on guilt, whereby the
sinner is bound over to punishment, according to the state in which
he is, until his sin be pardoned. This ariseth from the justice of
God and the threatening of his law ; which brings on all miseries
whatsoever.
But more particularly upon this head, when men pass the bounds
and limits which God hath set them in his law, then they transgress
it. All the violations of negative precepts are transgressions of
God's law. The design of the moral law is to keep men within the
bounds of their duty ; and when they sin they go beyond them.
Sin is indeed the greatest of evils ; it is directly opposite to God
the supreme good. The definitio^ that is given of sin expresses its
essential evil. It is the transgression of the divine law, and conse-
quently it opposes the rights of God's throne, and obscures the glory
of his attributes, which are exercised in the moral government of
the world. God is our King, our Lawgiver, and our Judge. From
his right and propriety in us as his creatures, his title to and sove-
reign power and dominion over us doth arise and flow. Man is en-
dued with the powers of understanding and election, to conceive and
choose what is good, and to reject what is evil ; is governed by a
law, even the declared will of his Maker. Now, sin, being a trans-
gression of this law, contains many evils in it. As,
1. It is high rebellion against the sovereign Majesty of God, that
gives the life of authority to the law. Therefore divine precepts
are enforced with the most proper and binding motive to obedience.
I am the Lord. He that commits sin, especially with pleasure and
design, implicitly denies his dependence upon God as his Maker and
Governor, and arrogates to himself an irresponsible liberty to do his
own will. This is clearly expressed by those atheistical designers,
who said, ' Our lips are our own ; who is Lord over us? Psal. xii.
4. The language of men's actions, which is more convincing than
their words, plainly declares, that they despise his commandments,
and contemn his authority, as if they were not his creatures and
subjects.
262 OP SIN IN GENERAL.
2. It is an extreme aggravation of this evil, that sin, as it is a
disclaiming our homage to God, so it is in true account a yielding
subjection to the devil; for sin is in the strictest propriety his work.
The original rebellion in paradise was by his temptation ; and all
the actual and habitual sins of men, since the fall, are by his effica-
cious influence. He darkens the carnal mind ; he sways and rules
the stubborn will ; he excites and inflames the vitious affections, and
imperiously rules in the children of disobedience. He is therefore
styled the prince and god of this world. And what more contume-
lious indignity can there be, than to prefer to the glorious Creator
of heaven and earth, a damned spirit, the most cursed part of the
whole creation? More particularly, sin strikes at the root of all the
divine attributes.
(1.) It is contrary to the unspotted holiness of God, which is the
peculiar glory of the Deity. Of all the glorious and benign constel-
lations of the divine attributes which shine in the law of God, his
holiness hath the brightest lustre. God is righteous in all his ways,
and holy in all his works : but the most precious and venerable
monument of his holiness is the law. This is a true draught of his
image, and a clear copy of his nature and will. It is the perspicu-
ous rule of our duty, without any blemish or imperfection. See
what a high encomium the apostle gives it, ' The commandment is
holy, just, and good,' Rom. vii. 12. It enjoins nothing but what is
absolutely good, without the least mixture and tincture of evil. It
is a full and complete rule, in nothing defective, and in nothing
superfluous, but comprehends the whole duty of man. The sum of
it is set down by the apostle, Tit. ii. 11. We are to live soberly, i. e.
we are to abstain from every thing that may blemish and stain the
excellency of our reasonable nature. "We are to live righteously.
This respects the state and situation wherein God hath placed us in
the world for the advancing of his glory. It includes and compre-
hends in it all the respective duties we owe to others, to whom we
are united by the bands of nature, of civil society, or of spiritual
communion. And we are to live godly, which takes in all the inter-
nal and outward duties which we owe to God, who is the Sovereign
of our spirits, whose will must be the rule, and his glory the end of
all our actions. In short the law is so contrived and framed, that
abstracting from the authority of the Lawgiver, its holiness and
goodness lays an eternal obligation upon us to obey its dictates.
Now, sin is directly and formally a contrariety to the infinite
sanctity and purity of God ; consisting in a not doing what the law
commands, or in doing that which it expressly forbids ; and God
cannot look upon it, but with infinite detestation, Hab. i. 13. He
OF SIN IN GENERAL. 263
cannot but hate that which is opposite to the glory of his nature,
and to the lustre of all his perfections.
(2.) Sin vilifies the wisdom of God, which prescribed the law to
men as the rule of their duty. The divine wisdom shines resplend-
ently in his laws. They are all framed with an exact congruity to
the nature of God, and his relation to us, and to the faculties of
man before he was corrupted. And thus the divine law being a
bright transcript both of God's will and his wisdom, binds the un-
derstanding and will, which are the leading faculties in man, to
esteem and approve, to consent to and choose, all his precepts as
best. Now, sin vilifies the infinite wisdom of God, both as to the
precepts of the law, the rule of our duty, and the sanction annexed
to it for confirming its obligation. It taxes the precepts as an un-
equal yoke, and as too severe and rigid a confinement to our wills
and actions. Thus the impious rebels complained of old, ' The ways
of the Lord are not equal :' they are injurious to our liberties, they
restrain and infringe them, and are not worthy of our study and
observation. And it accounts the rewards and punishments which
God has annexed as the sanction of the law to secure our obedience
to its precepts, weak and ineifectual motives to serve that purpose.
And thus it reflects upon the wisdom of the Lawgiver as lame and
defective, in not binding his subjects more firmly to their duty.
(3.) Sin is a high contempt and horrid abuse of the divine good-
ness, which should have a powerful influence in binding man to his
duty. His creating goodness is hereby contemned, which raised us
out of the dust of the earth unto an excellent and glorious being.
Our parents were indeed instrumental in the production of our
bodies; but the variety and union, the beauty and usefulness, of the
several parts, was the high design of his wisdom, and the excellent
work of his hands. Man's body is composed of as many miracles as
members, and is full of wonders. The lively idea and perfect exem-
plar of that regular fabric was modelled in the divine mind. This
aflTected David with holy admiration, Psal. cxxxix. 14, 15, 16. The
soul, or principal part, is of a celestial original, inspired by the Fa-
ther of Lights. The faculties of understanding and election are the
indelible characters of our honour and dignity above the brutes, and
make us capable to please God and enjoy our Maker. Now, God's
design in giving us our being was to communicate of his own fulness
to, and to be actively glorified by intelligent creatures, Rev. iv. 11.
None are so void of rational sentiments, as not to own, that it is our
indispensable duty and reasonable service to oflfer up ourselves an
entire living sacrifice to the glory of God. "What is more natural,
according to the laws of uncorrupted reason, than that love should
264 OP SIN IN GENERAL.
correspond with love ? As the one descends in benefits, the other
should ascend in praise and thankfulness. Now, sin breaks all
these sacred bonds of grace and gratitude, which engage us to love
and obey our Maker. He is the just Lord of all our faculties, intel-
lectual and sensitive ; and the sinner employs them all as weapons
of unrighteousness to fight against God. Again, it is he that up-
holds and preserves us by the powerful influence of his providence,
which is a renewed creation every moment, daily surrounding us
with many mercies. All the goodness which God thus bestows upon
men, the sinner abuses against him. This is the most unworthy,
shameful, and monstrous ingratitude imaginable. This makes for-
getful and unthankful men more brutish than the dull ox or stupid
ass, who serve and obey those that feed and keep them. Yea it
sinks them below the insensible part of the creation, which invari-
ably observes the law and order prescribed by the Creator. This is
astonishing degeneracy. It was the complaint of God himself, Isa.
i. 2. ' Hear, 0 heavens, and give ear 0 earth : I have nourished and
brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.'
(4.) The sinner disparages the divine justice, in promising him-
self peace and safety, notwithstanding the wrath and vengeance
that is denounced against him by the Lord. He labours to dissolve
the inseparable connexion that God hath placed between sin and
punishment, which is not a mere arbitrary constitution, but founded
upon the desert of sin, and the infinite rectitude of the divine na-
ture, which unchangeably hates it. The sinner sets the divine at-
tributes a contending as it were with one another, presuming that
mercy will disarm justice, and suspend its power by restraining it
from taking vengeance upon impenitent sinners. And thus sinners
become bold and resolute in their impious courses, like him men-
tioned, Deut. xxix. 19. who said, ' I shall have peace though I walk
in the imagination of my heart, to add drunkenness to thirst.' This
casts such an aspersion on the justice of God, that he solemnly
threatens the severest vengeance for it ; as you may see in ver. 20.
' The Lord will not spare him, but the anger of the Lord, and his
jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are
written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out
his name from under heaven.'
(5.) Sin strikes against the omniscience of God, and at least
denies it implicitly. There is such a turpitude adhering to sin, that
it cannot endure the light of the sun, nor the light of conscience,
but seeks to be concealed under a mask of virtue or a veil of dark-
ness. What is said of the adulterer and the thief, is true in pro-
portion of every sinner, ' If a man sees them, they are in the terrors
OF SIX IK GENERAL. 265
of the shadow of death.' And hence it is, that many who would
blush and tremble if they were surprised in their sinful actings by a
child or a stranger, are not at all afraid of the eye of God, though
he narrowly notices all their sins in order to judge them, and will
judge them in order to punish them.
(6.) Lastly, Sin bids a defiance to the divine power. This is one
of the essential attributes of God that makes him so terrible to
devils and wicked men. He hath both a right to punish and power
enough to revenge every transgression of his law that sinners are
guilty of. Now, his judicial power is supreme and his executive
power is irresistible. He can with one stroke dispatch the body to
the grave, and the soul to the pit of hell, and make men as miser-
able as they are sinful : and yet sinners as boldly provoke him as
if there were no danger. We read of the infatuated Syrians, how
they foolishly thought that God the protector of Israel had only
power on the hills but not in the valleys, and therefore renewed the
war to their own destruction. Thus proud sinners enter the lists
with God, and range an army of lusts against the armies of heaven,
and, being blindly bold, run on headlong upon their own ruin.
They neither believe God's all-seeing eye, nor fear his almighty
hand. You see then what an evil sin is in its nature. It is high
rebellion against God, and strikes at the root of all his attributes.
I shall conclude with a few inferences.
1. If ye would see your sins, look to the law of God. That is
the glass wherein we may see our ugly face. Hence the apostle
says, Rom. vii. 7. ' I had not known sin but by the law : for I had
not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.'
Look to it for what is past and present, in order to your being
humbled in the sight of a holy God. Look to it for your direction,
if you would shun the fatal rocks of sin for the time to come. It is
not what this man says, but what the word of God says, that is to
be the rule of your duty.
2. See here what presumption it is in men to make that duty
which God has not made so, and that sin which God has not made
so in religion. This is for men to set themselves in God's room,
and their will for the divine will. This is true superstition, how-
ever far the guilty seem to themselves and others to be from it.
And in this too many of different denominations agree, making
that duty and sin which God never made so. In this general they
agree, however they differ in particulars. This is expressly for-
bidden, Deut. iv. 2. ' Ye shall not add unto the word which I com-
mand you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it.' Remarkable
is the reason of this prohibition, ' that ye may keep the commaud-
s
266 or SIN IN GENERAL.
ments of the Lord your God which I command yon.' For to both
agrees what our Lord said, Matt. xv. 3. ' Why do ye transgress the
commandment of God by your traditions ?' Witness the deep igno-
rance of matters of salvation and the power of godliness, wherein
many are kept by reason of these principles, which have no footing
in the word of God.
3. Flee to Jesus Christ for the pardon of sin, for his blood and
Spirit to remove the same. All the waters of the sea will not wash
it out, but that blood alone. And repent and forsake your sin, or
it will be your ruin. Consider it is the greatest evil. For,
(1.) It is most contrary to the nature of God, who is the greatest
good ; and that which is most contrary to the greatest good, must
needs be the greatest evil. It may be looked on as the nadir to
zenith. The devil is not so contrary to God: for God gave the
devil a being, but not sin. It is sin that makes the devil opposite
to God ; it is the master, he the scholar. The fire is hotter than
the water which it heats. Sin fights against God ; it is a deicide ;
and, as one says, the sinner so far as in him lies, destroys the na-
ture of God. Sin is a dethroning of God, yea it strikes at his
being. It musters up its forces in the open field against God, and
when it is beaten from thence, it has its strong holds to go to ; yea,
like the thief on the cross, when it is crucified, it spits its venom
against him. It is a walking contrary to him ; and it rises against
him even to the last gasp.
(2.) Sin is the mother of all evils that ever were or shall be. It
is the big-bellied monster that is delivered daily of all other evils
as its births. It is that which has brought forth all the fire-brands
that ever were. What cast the angels out of heaven, or Adam out
of paradise ? Sin draws the sword against nations, makes women
husbandless, mothers childless, and brings on wars, famine and
pestilence. Personal evils, whether on soul or body, temporal,
spiritual, and eternal, are all from sin. It must needs then be the
greatest evil.
(3.) Sin is the concluding stroke of wrath on the soul. It is that
to which people are entirely given up. And what is it that makes
hell in the world, that God gives as the last stroke after all the
rest? Why, it is to give up the soul to sin ; Ezek. xxiv. 13. ' Be-
cause I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not
be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury
to rest upon thee,' That is the doom, ' Let him that is filthy be
filthy still.' He that was delivered up to Satan, was restored
again : but we never hear of any being restored who were given up
to themselves. Better be given up to the devil than to sin.
OK THE FIUST SIN IN PARTTCUriAR. 2G7
OF THE FIRST SIN IN PARTICULAR.
Gek. iii. 6, 7. — And tvhen the woman saw that the tree was good for
food, and that it was jjleasant to the eyes, and a tree to he desired to
make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also
unto her husband with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of them
both were opened, and they knew that they were naked: and they
sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
In these words we are distinctly informed how the covenant of
works was broken, and our first parents stripped of their primitive
innocence and integrity. Eve seduced by the devil, first ate of the
forbidden fruit, and Adam followed her example. The act being
completed by both, they immediately discovered, to their shame and
dishonour, the miserable state they were reduced to.
The words sufliciently found the following doctrine.
DocT. ' Our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were
created, by eating the forbidden fruit.'
I have already shewn why the forbidden tree was called the tree
of knowledge of good and evil, as also of what use it was in the co-
venant of works. It remains that we shew,
I. How the eating of the forbidden fruit was the first sin of our
first parents, by which they fell.
II. Why this fruit was forbidden.
III. The aggravations of it.
IV. Deduce some inferences.
I. I am to shew how the eating of the forbidden fruit was the
first sin of our first parents, by which they fell. It is not to be
thought, that they were wholly innocent till they had the forbidden
fruit in their mouths ; for their coveting it in their hearts be-
hoved of necessity to go before that ; but the eating of it was that
whereby their sin and apostacy from their Creator was completed.
The first step of their sin seems then to be doubting and unbelief of
the threatening. Gen. iii. 4, 6. Their faith as to the truth of the
threatening being first foundered, their heart plied to the tempta-
tion ; and then succeeded a lust after the forbidden fruit ; and then
the sin was completed by their actually eating it, as in the words
of the text.
Satan, the old serpent, very artfully laid his train for enticing
our first parents to eat this forbidden fruit. For he attacked the
woman when alone, at a distance from her husband ; he endea-
voured to make her doubt of the truth of the divine tlireatening ;
s2
2G8 op TUB FIRST SIN IN PARTICUrAR.
he presented the fatal object, as fruit pleasant to the eye, and to he
desired to make one wise : he pretended a higlier regard for them
than their sovereign Creator, who, he tacitly insinuated, grudged
their happiness : and he used means to persuade them, that they
should be like God, in the vast extent of their knowledge, upon
their eating the delectable morsel. Thus the eyes of their mind
were first blemished by a mist from hell ; which being admitted,
gradually darkened their understanding, so that first doubting, and
then disbelief of the threatening, ensued. Their will was easily
conquered to a compliance with the temptation ; then a corrupt af-
fection to the tree seized them, discovering itself in a lustful
looking at it : then the hand took it, and the month ate it, and the
fatal morsel was swallowed.
II. I am next to shew why this fruit was forbidden.
1. It was not because God grudged the happiness of our first
parents, as the devil blasphemously alleged, whom the event proved
a liar, John viii. 44. Nor yet,
2. Because there was any evil in the fruit itself ; for that could
not be ; for we are told. Gen. i. ult. that, at the close of the crea-
tion every thing was very good. This fruit was not forbidden because
it was evil, but it was evil because it was forbidden. It was for-
bidden for the trial of man's obedience. Not that God knew not
what was in man, and what he would be, but to discover the crea-
ture's weakness to himself without God, and that he might thence
take occasion of advancing his own glory impaired by the sin of
man, in a more illustrious manner than if innocent Adam had con-
tinued in his primitive state. But it may be asked. Why did God
make choice of this for the trial of man ? I answer, God did so
most reasonably. For,
(1.) This being a thing in itself indifi'erent, was most meet for
the trial of his obedience. For hereby his obedience was to turn
upon the precise point of the will of God, which would have been
the plainest evidence of obedience. Had it been to love God or his
neighbour, nature itself taught him to do so, and by the natural
make of his soul he was inclined to this. What trial would that
have been to a man newly created, and loaded with benefits from
God, not to take another God, worship images, or take his name in
vain, when he saw all to be God's creatures or servants ; to keep
the sabbath, which was to return once a-week only ? He had no
father or mother to honour, none to kill but her that was his own
fiesh, none to commit adultery with, none to steal from, none to
bear false witness against, none to covet their goods. Thus the pro-
hibition of a thing in itself indilferent was a proper test, and the
only proper test for the trial of man.
OF THE FIKST SIN IK PARTICUI-iAR. 269
(2.) Thus man's obedience or disobedience would be most clear
and conspicuous, being in an external thing whereof his very senses
might be judge ; which could not be in the internal acts of obedience.
(3.) This was most proper for asserting the sovereign dominion of
God, who had set Iupj down in a beautiful paradise, and made hira
lord of the world. Was it not very reasonable that God should
keep one single tree from him, as a testimony of his holding God
as his great Landlord ?
(4.) This was most useful and necessary to man, as a memoran-
dum of the state wherein he was created. For man was created
with a free will to good, whereof the tree of life was an evidence :
but also to evil, whereof the tree of knowledge of good and evil was
an evidence. So that in effect it was a continxial watchword to him,
and a beacon set up before him to beware of dashing on the rock of
sin.
(5.) It was a great mercy to man, in that, beside the^ natural
make of his soul, which was turned towards God as his chief happi-
ness and end, he had this prohibition set to keep it in that posture.
For as Aaron and Hur held up Moses' hand, Exod. xvii. 12, so man
had the fabric of his body looking upward, and this fair tree forbid-
den him, to teach him that his happiness lay not in the creatures,
but in God. So that this tree being forbidden was a sign of empti-
ness hung before the creature's door, with that inscription, Here is
not your rest ; the creature's hand pointing man away from them-
selves to God, as the alone fountain of happiness.
(6.) Lasthj, Tliis was a corapend of the whole law of God, wherein
all was summarily comprehended, viz. love to God, and his neigh-
bour, as will afterwards be made appear.
III. I come now to consider the evil of this first sin. Some may
be ready to say, Was not the eating of the forbidden fruit a little
sin ? So it appears indeed in the sight of blind man, whose eye
being put out with it, sees not the great majesty of God, and the
horrid evil of the action. But indeed it was more horrible if ye
consider,
1. The aggravations of it.
2. The nature of it.
3. The efi'ects of it.
First, Let us view the aggravations of this first sin. Consider,
1. The person who did it. I may say it was not a sinner that
sinned, bm au innocent person, free from all inclination to evil ;
one whom God made able to stand if he would, and endued with the
image of God, without any mixture of sinful ignorance, perverseness
of will, or irregularity of affections. No wonder to see a man witl»
s 3
270 OF THE FTKST SIN IN TARTICULAK.
a poor stock soon broken : but that a man who had such a large
stock should play the bankrupt, was horrid indeed.
2. What wjis the thing for which he broke the command. Achan
had a wedge of gold to tempt him, and Judas thirty pieces of silver
to entice his covetous disposition. But what was the enticing object
in Adam's case ? The fruit of a tree : a small thing indeed : but
the smaller the thing was, the more inexcusable the sinner, whom
Satan could draw after him by so slender a thread. What need
had he of that, when God had given him abundance of other fruit ?
But, with David, Adam spares his own flock, and takes his neigh-
bour's one lamb.
3. The persons wronged by this sin. He sinned against God
himself, to whom he owed the strictest obedience ; against his soul
and body, upon which he brought wrath and a curse ; against all
his posterity, who were then in his loins, upon whom his sin has en-
tailed a scene of evils, under which the human race will groan to
the end of time. Never did one sin strike against so many at once.
4. The time of this transgression. Man was scarcely well come
out of the hand of his Creator, till he lifted up his heel against him.
He stood very short while, till he turned giddy with ambition, and
fell into disgrace. It is thought probable, he fell the same day he
was created ; and such an early revolt from his allegiance was a
very high aggravation of his sin.
5. The place where the crime was committed. In paradise, where
every plant and flower were proclaiming the glory of God, and
where he wanted nothing that was necessary for him. In the pre-
sence-chamber, as it were, he struck at his Sovereign Lord and
King. So his oflTence was aggravated like the murder of Zacharias,
whom the Jews slew between the temple and the altar. Matt,
xxiii. 35.
Secondly, The nature of this sin. It was not one single sin, but
a complication of all evils, a violation of the whole law of God, and
a total apostacy from him in heart, lip, and life.* This was a sin
whereby at one touch both the natural and positive law was tram-
pled under foot ; yea, by which all the ten commandments were
struck at, at once.
1. Did they not chuse new gods : when, by eating this fruit,
they made their belly their god ; self their god ; nay the devil their
god, when they conspired with him J^gaiust God, being filled with
pride and ambition as he to be like God ; when they b*eved the
* A more particular view of the ingredients in the first sin may be seen in the
auihor's View of the Covenant of Works, p. 80, 81. published in 1772.
OF THE FIKST SIN IN PARTICULAR. 271
devil and mistrusted God, and shook off tlic yoke of his dominion,
turning rebels to him, and ',being most unthankful for the divine
goodness expressed towards them ? Rebel-man set up a trinity, (1.)
Of his belly, for sensuality, (2.) Of himself, by ambition ; and, (3.)
Of the devil, by believing him, and disbelieving his Creator.
2. Though man at first received, yet he did not observe that great
ordinance of God about the forbidden fruit. He contemned that
ordinance which God had most plainly appointed, and would needs
carve out to himself how he would serve the Lord.
He took the name of the Lord his God in vain, despising his at-
tributes, whereby he makes himself known, his justice, truth, power,
&c. profaning God's ordinance, that sacramental tree ; abusing his
word, by not giving credit to it ; and abusing his works, that crea-
ture which he should not have touched ; and violently misconstruct-
ing the work of providence, as if God, by that act of forbidding
them that tree, had minded to keep them from happiness. And
therefore though there was no man to punish them, God suffered
them not to escape his righteous judgment.
4. He was so far from remembering the Sabbath to keep it holy,
that he put himself out of all case for serving God ere it came, by
this means. He kept not that state of rest wherein God had placed
him.
5. Adam honoured not his Father in heaven. Both our first pa-
rents minded not their relative duties. Eve forgets herself, and
acts without advice of her husband, to the ruin of both ; and Adam,
instead of admonishing her to repent, yields to the temptation too,
and so confirms her in her wickedness. They forgot all duty to
their posterity. Therefore their days were not long in the land
which the Lord their God gave them.
6. He was the greatest murderer that ever lived. By this act he
was a child-murderer, cutting the throats of all his posterity ; and
he was a self-murderer too.
7. Our first parents were fain to cover their nakedness with fig-
leaves, which their luxury and sensuality had brought them too.
8. Adam committed theft ; and was but a thief and a robber in
taking that which was not his own, against the will of the great
Owner. He was the Achan in the camp.
9. He bare false witness against the Lord, when he ate of the for-
bidden fruit. It was an avouching, that God's word was not to be
believed, that the Lord dealt hardly and scrimptly with him, and
grudged his happiness.
10. He was discontented with that happy state wherein God had
placed him. He was not content witli his lot, and therefore, likn
272 OP THE FIRST SIN IN PAKTICULAR,
another king of Babylon, he coveted an evil covetousness to his
house ; which ruined both himself and thera.
Thirdly, Consider the effects of this first sin.
1. Grod was robbed of his glory, that he should have had from tlic
creature's active obedience. He was made and well qualified for
glorifying his Creator ; but breaking covenant with God, and fall-
ing under the curse of the law, he was quite indisposed for that
work. He could aim no more at this mark which God set before
him.
2. God's image was defaced ; the King of Heaven's picture was
rent in pieces. What a huge offence would it be to come into
a workman's shop, and with one touch dash in pieces a curious
piece of work that he had made? Yet thus offensively did' Adam
behave, spurning at the image of God, and quite defacing it from
his soul.
3. Adam and all his posterity were ruined by this fatal transgres-
sion. It opened the sluice to all that flood of miseries that has
overspread the face of the earth. At this gate sin and death en-
tered into the world, where they will reign till time shall be no
more. God is just and holy ; and if the first sin had not deserved
this punishment, it would not have been inflicted with such a mark
of indignation.
I shall conclude with a few inferences.
1. Say not when ye are tempted, it is but a little sin and there-
fore ye may act it. Consider, that which in the commission is but
as the little cloud, no bigger than a man's hand, when God comes to
judgment, or conscience gets up, will cover the face of the heavens.
Little do ye know what a small temptation may be big with. A
man may drown in a little rivulet as well as in the deep sea.
2. Then God's will is a sufficient bar to hold us back from any
thing if we would be safe. And therefore let us know, that where
there is no more to be a hedge to us but the bare command of God,
if we leap over it, a serpent will bite us. Ah ! how few know what
it is to be restrained by a bare command of God ! Ah ! the gene-
rality leap over the hedge of God's will and law, and live as if their
were no restraint upon them from the God of heaven, who will
severely punish all transgressions of his law.
3. Beware of the pleasure of your senses, and the pride of life.
The lust of the eye and the lust of the flesh ruined the world at
first, and do so still. The devil shoots his darts by the eye into the
soul, which is weaker now than it was in the primitive state, and
more liable to deception. Therefore watch your eyes and ears.
Have a care of sensuality. Eating ruined Adam and Eve ; and
OP OUK FALL IN ADAM, 273
still ruins many, who cat not for God or his glory, but to satisfy
their sensual appetite, as they did.
4. Lastly, 0 prize Christ, who to redeem lost man, did hang upon
a tree, and di'ink the cup of wrath as the bitter fruits of sin, and
was buried in a garden. The first Adam ate of the forbidden tree,
and Christ hung on the cursed tree. Adam's preposterous love to
his wife made him sin, and Christ's love to his spouse made him
suffer. Our first parents pleased their sensual appetite with the
taste of the jdeasant fruit of the forbidden tree, and therefore Christ
got vinegar mixed with gall to drink upon the cross-tree. Adam
sinned in a garden, and in a garden was Christ buried. By eating
the forbidden fruit, death came upon all men to condemnation ; and
by eating the fiesh, and drinking the blood of Christ, life is brought
to the soul. 0 then, sinners, flee unto the Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath restored that which the first Adam took away ; and ye shall
be reinstated in all that happiness and favour with God which ho
forfeited by eating the forbidden fruit.
OF OUR FALL IN ADAM.
Romans v. 19. — For as by one inaitCs disobedience many were made sin-
ners ; so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Tuis text consists of two propositions. The first is. By one man's
disobedience many luere made sinners. AYhere consider,
1. Who that one man was. It was Adam. This is plain from
ver. 14. and to no other can it agree.
2. What that disobedience of his was. It was his first sin, the
eating of the forbidden fruit. This was that sin that first broke in-
to the world, and opened the door to death, ver. 12. This was the
transgression of Adam, ver. 14. that offence or fall, ver. 15. the offence
of one, or, as the Greek will bear, the one offence ' ton henos parap-
tomati,' here called disobedience, for thereby he hearkened to the
devil, not to God.
3. Whom it concerned ; many. This is in efl^ect the same with
the all mentioned, ver. 14. Eut the alteration of the phrase is not
without reason : for there is an exception here of the man Christ, of
whom he speaks in the next clause. It reached many men, but not
all simply ; he, and he only, was excepted.
4. IIow it touched them ; they were nuide sinners by it. Now,
there are only two ways how men miglit be made sinners by the
274 OP OUR PALL IN ADAM.
disobedience of Adam, viz. either by imputation or imitation. The
last is not meant. (1.) Because some of those many who are made
sinners, arc not capable of imitation or actual sin, viz. infants. (2.)
Because we are made righteous, not by the imitation, but imputa-
tion, of Christ's righteousness ; but as we are made righteous by the
one, so we are made sinners by the other.
5. The foundation of this imputation, which is a relation betwixt
the one and the many here implied ; for unless there had been some
bond of union betwixt the one and many, the sin of that one could
not have been imputed to the many. There was indeed a natural
bond betwixt him and us : but this was not the ground of the impu-
tation ; for we have such an union with our immediate parents,
whose sin is not thus imputed. It behoved then to be a moral
bond, by the way of a covenant, he being the representative of
many in the covenant of works. From these words there arises this
doctrine, viz.
DocT. ' The covenant being made with Adam, not only for him-
self, but for his posterity, all mankind descending from him by
ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him, in his first
transgression.'
In discoursing this doctrine, I shall shew,
I. What sin of Adam's it was that they who sinned and fell
with him, sinned and fell in.
II. Who they were that sinned and fell in Adam.
III. How the first sin of Adam comes to be imputed to us.
IV. Conclude with some inferences.
I. I am to shew what sin of Adam's it was that they who sinned
and fell with him, sinned and fell in. It was his first sin, the
eating of the forbidden fruit. That sin is also their sin. This was
the sin that broke the covenant of works. Other sins of Adam are
not imputed to them, more than those of any other private persons.
For he was a head only of obedience, not of suffering. So then,
Adam quickly betaking himself to the covenant of grace, and
placing himself under another head as a private man, ceased to be
the head in the covenant of works. Adam had all his children in
one ship to carry them to Immanuel's land ; by his negligence he
dashed the ship on a rock, and broke it all in pieces ; and so he and
his lay foundering in a sea of guilt : Jesus Christ lets out the
second covenant as a rope to draw them to the shore. Adam for
himself lays hold on it, while others hold by the broken boards of
the ship, till they be by the power of grace enabled to quit them
too, as he was.
II. I proceed to shew who they were that sinned and fell in
OF OUU FALL IN ADAM. 275
Adam. They were all mankiud, descending from him by ordinary
generation. So,
1. Christ is excepted. Adam's sin was not imputed to the man
Christ. This is plain from Heb. vii. 26. He was separated from
sinners, and was not infected with the plague whereof he was to be
the cleanser. And so Christ comes not in under Adam as head, but,
as in the text, is opposed to Adam as another head.
Christ was indeed a Son of Adam, as appears from his genealogy
brought up to Adam, Luke iii. And it was necessary he should be
so, that he might be our near kinsman, and that the same nature
that sinned might suffer. But he came not of him by ordinary ge-
neration : the extraordinariness of his descent lay in that he was
born of a virgin. And upon this account he came not in under
Adam in the covenant of works ; for Christ was not born by virtue
of that blessing of marriage given before the fall, Gren. i. 28. but
by virtue of a covenant-promise made after the fall. Gen. iii. 15. So
that Adam could represent none in that covenant, but such as were
to spring from him by virtue of that blessing.
2. All mankind besides sinned and fell with Adam in that first
transgression. His sin of eating the forbidden fruit is imputed
to them ; i e. is reckoned theirs, as if they had committed it.
Consider,
(1.) The scripture plainly testifies, that all sinned in him, Rom.
V. 12. ' By one man's sin, death entered into the world, and death
by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.'
Hence it is plain, that death has not come into the world but in
pursuit of sin ; all die, for all have sinned. Infants are not ex-
empted more than others. We see graves of an infant's length ;
yea, sometimes the womb is made their grave, and they get a coflin
instead of a cradle. It is long ere infants laugh, but they come
into the world crying ; a sure evidence of misery. What have they
done ? What could they do ? Yet God is just, and is not pur-
suing innocents. What then can be the quarrel but this, that they
are taken prisoners for the debt contracted by their father? ver. 14.
(2.) All fell with him into misery by that sin. Now, a just God
will not involve the innocent with the guilty in the same punish-
ment. Consider,
[1.] All fell under the guilt of eternal wrath for that sin, Rom.
V. 16, 18. ' The judgment was by one to condemnation. — By the
ofl'ence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation.'
Now, where there is a communion of guilt there must needs be a
communion of sin ; for the law can bind none over to punishment
but for sin. ' All die in Adam,' says the apostle, 1 Cor. xv. 22.
276 OF OUR FALL IN ADAM.
but it is only the soul that sins that shall die, Ezek. xviii, 4. there-
fore all sinned in Adam.
[2.] All fell under the loss of God's image, and the corruption of
nature with him. How comes it that all men must say with David,
Psal. ii. 5. ' Behold I was shapen in iniquity ; and in sin did my
mother conceive me ?' Take away the imputation of Adam's sin,
and there is no foundation for the corruption of nature. It must be
some sin that God punishes with the deprivation of original righte-
ousness, which can be no other than the first sin of Adam.
[3.] All the punishments inflicted on Adam and Eve, for that sin,
as specified in Gen. iii. are common to mankind, their posterity ;
and therefore the sin must be so too.
III. I come now to shew how the first sin of Adam comes to be
imputed to us. The great reason of this is, because we are all in-
cluded in Adam's covenant. The covenant was made with him, not
only for himself, but for all his posterity. Consider here,
1. It was the covenant of works that was made with Adam, the
condition whereof was perfect obedience. This was the first cove-
nant. As for the covenant of grace, it was made with the second
Adam.
2. It was made with him for himself. That was the way he him-
self was to attain perfect happiness ; his own stock was in that ship.
3. It was made not only for himself, but for all his posterity de-
scending from him by ordinary generation. So that he was not
here as a mere private person, but as a public person, the moral
head and representative of all mankind. Hence the scripture holds
forth Adam and Christ, as if there had never been any but these
two men in the world, 1 Cor. xv. 47. ' The first man is of the earth,
earthy, (says he) : the second man is the Lord from heaven.' And
this he does, because they were two public persons, each of them
having under them persons represented by them, Rom. v. 14, 18.
' Death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not
sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the
figure of him that was to come. As by the offence of one, judgment
came upon all men to condemnation ; even so by the righteousness
of one, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.'
This is plain from the imputation of Adam's sin, which necessarily
requires this as the foundation of it. We being thus included and
represented in that covenant, what he did he did as our head, and
therefore it is justly imputed to us.
But some may be ready to say, we made not choice of Adam for
that purpose. Ans. (1.) God made the choice, who was as meet to
make it for us as. we for ourselves. And 'who art thou that re-
OF OUR FALL IN ADAM. 277
pliest agaiust God.' (2.) Adam was our natural head, the common
father of us all, Acts xvii. 26. and who was so meet to be trusted
with the concerns of all mankind as he ? But to clear further the
reasonableness of this imputation, and to still the murmuring of
proud nature against the dispensation of God, consider,
1. Adam's sin is imputed to us, because it is ours. For God doth
not reckon a thing ours, which is not so, Rom. ii. 2. — * The judg-
ment of God is according to truth.' For God's justice doth not
punish men for a sin which is in no way theirs. And it is our sin
upon the account aforesaid. Even as Christ's righteousness is ours
by virtue of our union with him. As if a person that lias the
plague infect others, and they die, they die, by their own plague,
and not by that of another.
2. It was free for God, antecedently to the covenant made with
man, either to have annihilated all mankind, or if he had preserved
them, to have given them no promise of eternal life in heaven, not-
withstanding by natural justice they would have been liable to his
wrath in case of sin. Was it not then an act of grace in God to
make such a rich covenant as this ? and would not men have con-
sented to this representation gladly in this case ?
3. Adam had a power to stand if he would, being made after the
image of God, Gen. i. 26. He was set down with a stock capable
to be improved to the eternal upmaking of all his posterity. So
that he was as capable to stand as any afterwards could be for
themselves : and this was a trial that would soon have been over,
while the other would have been continually a-doing, had men been
created independent on him as their representative.
4. He had natural affection the strongest to engage him. He was
our father, and all we the children that were in his loins, to whom
we had as good ground to trust as to any other creature.
5. His own stock was in the ship ; his all lay at stake as well as
ours. Forgetting our interest, he behoved to disregard his own, for
he had no separate interest from ours.
6. If he had stood, we could never have fallen ; he had gained
for us eternal liappiuess ; the image of God, and the crown of glory,
would have descended from him to us by a sure conveyance.
And is it not reasonable, on the other hand, that if he fell, we
should fall and bear the loss ? No man quarrels, that when a ma-
ster sets his land in tack to a man and his heirs upon conditions, if
the first possessor break the bargain, the heirs be denuded of it.
7. Lastli/, All that quarrel this dispensation must renounce their
part in Christ : for we are made righteous by him, as sinners are
made guilty by Adam. If we fall in with the one, why not with
27B OF OUR FALL IN ADAJf.
the other ? We chose Christ for our head in the second covenant,
no more than we did Adam in the first covenant.
A few inferences shall conclude this subject.
1. Hence see the dreadful nature of sin ; one sin could destroy a
whole world. What a plague of plagues must this sin be, that has
swept away not families, towns, and countries only, but the Avhole
race of mankind ! View it in this glass, if you would know it aright.
2. Let this be a lesson to parents. Adam's fall should be a
watch-word to every parent, to endeavour by all means to do no-
thing that may bring ruin on their children. Many times children
are destroyed by their parents through their bad example, and their
omission of exercising proper discipline and correction on them.
Te that are parents, give your children a good and pious example,
accompanied with wholesome precepts and instructions. And watch
over and narrowly observe their behaviour, and pray for and with
them, that they may be delivered from wrath and condemnation.
3. This doctrine affords a lesson of humility to all. The rich
have no cause to boast of their wealth and abundance ; for they
have a sad heritage left to them ; and the poor and needy have the
very same. If one man be better than another, no thanks to us ;
for we are all alike by nature.
4. Hence view and wonder at the redemption purchased for poor
fallen sinners by the obedience and death of Christ. Behold here
the necessity of it : What could they do for their help that came
into the world under a sentence of condemnation ? — the seasonable-
ness of this deliverance, when the sentence was passed on all : — the
perfection of it; it takes away this first sin, and all others too.
How strong must the power of the grace of Christ be, that could
stop the torrent of Adam's sin, when increased with innumerable
actual transgressions? Rom. v. 16.
5. Lastly, Quit your hold of the first Adam and his covenant, and
come to and unite with Christ by faith, and lay hold on his covenant,
1 Cor. XV. 22. Flee to and make use of his blood for the taking
away of the first sin iu particular, and mourn for it before the Lord.
If this be not removed, it will ruin you. And to stir you up to a
concern about this sin, consider how we are naturally writing after
this copy, by our unbelief of the word, our affecting mainly what is
forbidden, &c. as I shewed before. The offer of Christ as a Saviour
from sin is made to you ; and ye are called to embrace him as a Sa-
viour to you in particular. Accept the offer, as ye regard the sal-
vation of your souls ; otherwise you will be ruined, not only by the
breach of the first covenant, but by despising the second, which is
the only means devised by infinite wisdom for the recovery of fallen
sinners.
OP THE SINFULNESS OF MAn's NATURAL STATE. 279
OF THE SINFULNESS OF MAN'S NATURAL STATE.
PsAL. li. 5. — Behold, I was shccpen in iniquity, and in sin did my mo-
ther conceive me.
Man that was holy and happy is now fallen ; and his fall should
never be forgotten, but lameuted, though it were with tears of blood.
Man's first sin was the spring of all our woes, the poisonous foun-
tain from whence all our misery flowed. It brought mankind into
an estate of sin and misery ; a state wherein man can do nothing
but sin, wherein every thought, every word, and every action is
tainted with sin, wherein enmity to God and his holy nature, and
rebellion against and opposition to his righteous law universally
reign and prevail. In this dismal state to which mankind are re
duced by the fall, no trne holiness is attainable, for it is a state of
sin ; and no salvation from wrath can be had, for it is a state of
misery. The state we must be brought into, out of our sinful and
miserable state under the breach of the covenant of works, if we
would attain unto salvation, is the state of grace under the new co-
venant. Those that are delivered from their natural state, under
the broken covenant, are persons eff'ectually called by grace, and
are ' in Christ Jesus,' Rom. viii. 1. Those that are still under the
bondage of the old covenant, are out of Christ, and ' have no hope,'
Eph. ii. 12. This state is a very sinful and miserable state. For
the power that the covenant of works has over them, is a command-
ing, cursing, and condemning power : it commands them to yield
perfect obedience, under pain of the curse, but affords no strength
for performing it ; and it curses and condemns them for every the
least failure. The source of all is the total corruption and depra-
vity of human nature, which we derive from our first father, in
whom we all sinned, and with whom we fell, in his first transgres-
sion. In the text we have,
1. A plain confession of the being of original sin. Here is sin
and iniquity, which the Psalmist owns he had while yet in the womb,
sin in which he was shapen, and iniquity in which he was conceived.
This was not peculiar to the Psalmist, but is common to all man-
kind sprung in an ordinary way from the first transgressor Adam.
2. The way of the conveyance of this original sin, viz. by natural
generation. In this way every son and daughter of Adam are in-
fected with this leprosy.
3. The malignant efficacy it hath on men's lives ; Behold, says
David, I was shipen in iniquity, ^c. He points out original sin as
280 OP THE SINPULITESS
the fountain of all his actual transgressions. For how can a cor-
rupt fountain send out wholesome streams ?
The doctrine observable from the text is,
DocT. * The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consists
in the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of original righteousness,
and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called
original sin, together with all actual transgressions which proceed
from it.'
In discoursing from this doctrine I will shew,
I. That there is such a thing as original sin.
II. Wherein original sin consists.
III. Deduce some inferences for application.
I. Our first business is to shew, tliat there is such a thing as origi-
nal sin. Of this we hare melancholy proofs.
1. Consider scripture-testimonies. In the text we have David, a
man after God's own heart, yet confessing he was shapen in iniquity,
and conceived in sin. Adam begets Seth, from whom the whole race
of mankind derive their origin, after ' his own image,' Gen. v. 1.
opposed to ' the image of God,' after which he was made, Gen. i. 26.
consisting in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness. Job says
chap. xiv. 4. ' Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ? not
one.' This is God's verdict on all mankind, Gen. vi. 5. ' Every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart is only evil continually.'
2. This is plain from the case of infants, which we all once were.
We may plainly read in their faces, that we are covered over with
sin and guilt before any other covering come on us. For, (1.) What
else mean scripture-ordinances about them ? If there were not in
them a superfluity of naughtiuess, why were they circumcised ? if
they are not unclean, why are they baptised ? This corruption of
human nature was also shadowed forth by the law, concerning puri-
fying of women. (2.) Consider the sad efi'ects of sin upon them,
which meet them as soon as they come into the world, yea in the
womb, such as sickness, pains, death, &c., which says, that ' by na-
ture we are the children of wrath,' Eph. ii. 3. (3.) Consider the
early appearances of Adam's image in them, before ever they come
to the use of reason. What a deal of pride, ambition, curiosity, va-
nity, wilfulness, and averseness to good, appears in them ; and when
they creep out of iufancy, what obstinacy and incorrigibleness ap-
pears in them ; so that there is a necessity of using the rod of cor-
rection to drive away the foolishness that is bound in their heart,
Prov. xxii. 15.
3. The universal necessity of regeneration plainly proves the
corruption of our nature, John iii. 3. ' Except a man be born again,
OF man's natural state. 281
he cannot see the kingdom of God.' Were we not disjointed by na-
ture, what need would there be for us to be taken down, and put up
again ? If the first birth were right, what need would there be for
a second ?
II. I come now to shew wherein original sin consists. It consists
in these three things : the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of ori-
ginal righteousness, and the corruption of the whole nature.
First, Original sin consists in the guilt of Adam's first sin. Guilt
is an obligation to punishment. For this sin, which is ours by im-
putation, we are liable to punishment. This guilt lies on all men
by nature, Rom. v. 18. And this guilt of Adam's first sin is origi-
nal sin imputed ; of which I si)oke in the former discourse. The
only remedy for it is in Jesus Christ, 1 Cor. xv. 22. Eph. i. 7- Rom.
iii. 24.
Secondly, It consists in the want of original righteousness. Origi-
nal righteousness is that righteousness and entire rectitude of all
the faculties of the soul wherein man was created. Man's soul was
so adorned with it, that it resembled its great Maker. But now
man is stript of these ornaments, he is left quite naked.
1. There is a want of that knowledge in the mind wherewith man
was created. That light that was set up in the soul of man is now
gone ; though the candlestick is not removed, the candle is, Job xi.
12. ' For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild
ass's colt.' The mind is like the ostrich, whom God hath deprived
of understanding. ' The understanding is darkened, being alienated
from the life of God through the ignorance that is in men, because
of the blindness of their heart, Eph. iv. 18. ' The natural man re-
ceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness
unto him : neither can ye know them, because they are spiritually
discerned,' 1 Cor. ii. 14.
2. That righteousness which was in the will of man, that bent
and inclination to good, is now removed, Eccl. vii. 29. ' I know
[says the apostle] that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good
thing : for to will is present with me, but how to perform that
which is good, I find not,' Rom. vii. 18.
3. The holiness of the affections is gone. Spiritual aflfections
have taken the wing, and left the soul as a bird without wings
which hath nothing whereby it can mount, Rom. vii. 18. forecited.
This want of original righteousness is a sin, being a want of con-
formity to the law of God, which requires all moral perfection. It
is also a punishment of sin, and so is justly inflicted by God. And
though the want of this righteousness be sin, yet God's depriving
man of it, or rather not giving it him, is a most just act ; seeing
T
282 OF THE SINFULNESS
Adam, having got it for himself and his posterity, threw it away,
and God is not obliged to restore it. And it can be no other sin
but the first sin, whereof this with-holding of original righteousness
is the punishment. So true it is, that if the imputation of Adam's
first sin be denied, original sin is quite rased, there is no foundation
left for it.
Thirdlif, It consists in the corruption of the whole nature. Con-
cerning which two things are to be considered.
1. That the nature of man is indeed corrupted, "We must not
think that original sin lies only in the want of original righteous-
ness. No, man is not only void of good qualities naturally, but he
is filled with evil ones.
(1.) The scripture holds it forth so, while it calls this sin 'the
flesh which lusteth against the Spirit, the old man, the body of
death, the law of the members warring against the law of the
mind, &c.
(2.) The soul of man cannot be otherwise. It must needs be
morally right or wrong; either it is habitually conformable to the
law of God, or not ; if it be not, its inclinations are against it. The
soul has either God's image or that of the devil upon it. If there
is not light in the mind, there must be darkness there.
2. Consider the nature and extent of this corruption. As to its
extent,
1st. All men are corrupted. There is no exception of any one of
Adam's posterity descending from him by ordinary generation :
Gen. vi. 5. ' God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the
earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually.' Job xiv. 4. ' Who can bring a clean thing
out of an unclean ? not one.' The Virgin Mary, of the substance of
whose body the holy human nature of Christ was formed by the
operation of the Holy Spirit, is included among the rest. Even the
children of holy parents are corrupted ; for generation is by nature,
not by grace. The circumcised father begets an uncircumcised
child, as the purest corn that is sown produceth chafi".
2c%, All of every man is corrupted; it is a leprosy that has
overspread universally; a leaven that hath leavened the whole
lump. It has overspread,
1. The soul in all its faculties, Tit. i. 15. ' Unto them that are
defiled and unbelieving, is nothing pure ; but even their mind and
conscience is defiled.'
\st, If we look to the understanding, there we will see,
(1.) Darkness over all that region. It is the land of darkness
and shadow of death, where the very light is darkness ; darkness in
OF man's natural state. 283
the abstract, Eph. v. 8. We are born blind, and cannot be restored
without a miracle. There is a dreadful stupidity in spiritual things;
the natural man cannot take them up, 1 Cor. ii. 14. ; but he is a
fool, and a madman, because in these things he is a mere natural.
(2.) A bitter root of unbelief naturally grows there, which over-
spreads the whole life. Men by nature are ' children of disobe-
dience,' Eph. ii. 2. Or, ' of impersuasibleness,' How like Adam do
we look ! how universally is that article embraced, ' Ye shall not
surely die !' and how does it spread itself through the lives of men,
as if they were resolved to fall after the same example of unbelief !
2dli/, As for the will, call.it no more will, but lust. It is free to
evil but not to good. ' God made man upright,' his will straight
with his own, with a power in the will to do good and an inclination
and bent thereto. But now behold in it,
(1.) A pitiful weakness. Man naturally cannot will what is
good and acceptable to God. He cannot produce one holy act until
grace change the heart, more than a stone can feel, or a beast rea-
son. Hence the apostle says, Phil. ii. 13. ' It is God which worketh
in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.' Rom. v. 6.
' "We are without strength.' 2 Cor. iii. 6. ' We are not sufficient of
ourselves to think any thing of ourselves : but our sufficiency is of
God.' Men by nature are dead spiritually ' dead in trespasses and
sins, Eph. ii. 1. If they will what is good, it is in a carnal manner.
(2.) An aversion to good. We are backward to it, and therefore
must be drawn as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Sin is the
natural man's element ; and as the fish is averse to come out of the
water, so is the sinner from the puddle of sin, in which he delights
to lie. Hence says our Lord, John v. 40. ' Ye will not come unto
me, that ye might have life.' They were not only naturally unable
to come, but they had no inclination to the duty. Their stomachs
are full, and, like the full soul that loaths the honey-comb, they
nauseate the heavenly food in their offer.
(3.) There is a proneness to evil, a bent and inclination to it,
Hos. xi. 7- ' My people are bent to backsliding from me.' Hence
natural men are mad on idols. Set sin and duty, death and life,
cursing and blessing before the natural man, and leave the will to
itself, it will naturally run to sin, to death, and the curse, as the
waters run down a steep place.
(4.) There is a crossness and contrariety in the will to God and
goodness, Rom. viii. ?• * The carnal mind is enmity against God :
for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.'
That God forbids a thing is a motive to the will to like it. No
fruit is so sweet to the corrupt appetite as the forbidden fruit.
t2
284 OF THE SINFULNESS
Strip sin naked of all its ornaments and allurements, and the natu-
ral man will court it for itself. The will naturally lies cross to
God.
(1.) It is cross to his nature. He is holiness itself; and the will
rejects holiness for itself. Hence men ' say to God, Depart from
us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways,' Job xxi. 14. The
will is an enemy to the scripture Grod, and hence they do what they
can for the change, Psal. 1. 21. It was most agreeable to nature,
that the Pagans made their gods profane. The proud man desires
to have none above hira to controul him, or call him to account, and
the natural man wants to have no God, Ps. xiv. 1.
(2.) It is cross to his will. (1.) To his law, which binds to con-
formity to God, which the natural man hates, Rom. viii. 7. Cor-
rupt nature rises against this yoke : they would have the law
brought down to their corruptions. Hence that is a distinguishing
mark of the godly man, ' His delight is in the law of the Lord and
in his law doth he meditate day and night,' Psal. i. 2. (2.) To his
gospel. The will of man naturally is quite opposite to the grand
device of salvation through the Lord Jesus ; and natural men, like
Judas, would rather hang themselves than go to Christ, submitting
themselves unto the righteousness of God, Rom. x, 3. They say,
* We will not have this man to reign over us.' Luke xix. 14. The
gospel is designed for humbling the pride and selfishness of men ;
but they are for exalting self, and placing it on the throne. It lies
cross to the will of God in its chief acts.
(1.) As to the intention, the will is wholly cross and perverse as
to the ultimate end. Self is set up for the chief end instead of God,
2 Tim. iii. 2. ' Men shall be lovers of their own selves.' In this we
follow our first father's footsteps. The will is like a traitor, who,
instead of gathering in the rents of the crown to the king, gathers
them in to itself.
(2.) As to the choice, Psal. iv. 6. ' There be many that say, "Who
will shew us any good ?' God oflfers himself to be the sinner's por-
tion ; but he chuses the creatures for his portion, and sin for the
way to obtain it.
(5.) There is contumacy in it. . The will is wilful in evil and will
not be turned, though it should run on the sword-point of vengeance,
Ezek. xviii. 31. ' Why will ye die, 0 house of Israel ?' Like the
leviathan in his way, it ' laugheth at the shaking of a spear,' Job
xli. 29. ' I shall have peace (says the natural man), though I walk
in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst,'
Deut. xxix. 19, This is the stony heart, which as a stone is insen-
sible, resisting, inflexible, but by the power of divine grace, hard to
receive impressions, but as the water to let them go.
OF man's natural state. 285
3(;%, As to the aft'ections, they are quite disordered. "While man
stood, his reason was subject to the law, and his affections to his
reason : but now, like the mnruly horse, they will either not receive,
or else run away with the rider, Jer. ii. 23, 24. *
(1.) The affections are misplaced as to their objects. The natural
man is a spiritual monster. His heart is there, where his feet
should be, fixed on the earth ; Jiis heels are lifted up against Hea-
yen, which his heart should be set on. He loves what he should
hate, and hates what he should love ; joys in what he ought to
mourn for, and mourns for what he should rejoice in ; glories in his
shame, and is ashamed of his glory ; abhors what he should desire,
and desires what he should abhor; acting in direct opposition to the
apostolical injunction of ' seeking those things which are above,'
Col. i. 1.
(2.) When the natural man's affections are fixed on lawful objects,
they can keep no bounds. They cannot flow to the creature, with-
out overflowing; they cannot love a lawful object, without over-
loving it; nor joy in any created comfort, without excess. The
affections are never right, only evil.
Further, this corruption has spread even to the body. That
which should be a temple for God is become a garrison of lusts.
1. It incites the soul to sin. What a snare is the temperature of
the body to the soul, leading it to the commission of many foul sins !
Therefore the godly beat it down as an unruly beast, keep it under,
and bring it into subjection, that it cast not the soul into sin and
misery, 1 Cor. ix. 27. It is the house wherein snares are spread for
the soul ; so that many, to please their bodies, make shipwreck of
their souls.
2. Its members are members of unrighteousness, Rom. vi. 13.
Are not the eyes and ears the windows whereat death comes in to
the soul ? The tongue is an untamed beast, by which the impure
heart vents its filthiness. The throat is an open sepulchre ; the feet
run the devil's errands ; and the belly is made a god. The body is
naturally an agent for Satan, and a magazine of armour against the
Lord.
What shall we say ? who can express the corruption of nature ?
The whole man is corrupted. All defilement is in us naturally,
Rom. i. 29. The treasure of wickedness is in the heart, Matth. xii.
35. It is a cage full of unclean birds. The tongue is a world of
iniquity, an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. What an universe
of wickedness and impurity must the heart then be ?
This is a rude draught of the corruption of human nature in its
fallen state, which the Spirit of God in scrii)ture calls fieah, in
T 3
286 OF THE SINFULNESS
many passages that miglit be quoted. The i^ropriety of this expres-
sion will be evident from the following particulars.
1. It denotes the degrading and debasing malignity that is in sin,
which unspirits and unsouls a man, if I may be allowed such expres-
sions. A sinner is called a carnal man, a man made up of nothing
but a lump of dull flesh kneaded together without spirit. And
therefore the apostle, Rom. viii. 13» does not bid men mortify the
deeds of their souls, but of their bodies, because wicked men act as
if they had no souls, or at least not so noble a soul as the rational
one is.
2. It denotes what it is that sin tends unto. It is only to please
and gratify the flesh ; to pamper the body, that sensual, sordid, and
baser part of man. The soul of the natural man acts for no higher
end than the soul of a beast. The soul of a beast acts not for itself,
but is made a drudge and underling to the body. It serves only to
carry the body up and down to its pasture, and make it to relish its
food and fodder. And thus it is with the souls of wicked men; they
act not for themselves, but are only provisors for the body, that seek
out and lay in provision for the flesh. Hence we have that exhor-
tation, Rom. xiii. 14. ' Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not
provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof.
3. Though the soul be the chief seat of the flesh, yet the flesh is
the great instrument by which it acts, Rom. vi. 19. Hence its
actions are called ' the deeds of the body,' Rom. viii. 13. Though
some sins are seated in the mind, as heresies, covetousness, malice,
pride, &c. yet they are set down among the works of the flesh in the
apostle's catalogue, Gal. v. 19, 20. And as to the sins of omission,
they usually take their rise in men from some inordinate sensual af-
fection to the creature, which causes them to omit their duty to
God, but, generally speaking, most sins are acted by the flesh.
When the devil would set up a kingdom in the hearts of men, he
doth it by the flesh ; for what is nearer and dearer to us than our
flesh? and things pleasant and grateful to the flesh strongly pro-
mote his designs. These darken and blind their minds, corrupt
their hearts, and entice and allure their aflfections ; so that they
hunt after them with an eager pursuit, to the woful neglect of God
and their precious souls.
4. The disorder of the sensitive appetite, which inclines men to
the interest and conveniences of the flesh, is the great cause of all
sin ; and therefore fallen man is represented in scripture as wholly
governed by his sensual inclinations. Gen. vi. 3. John iii. 6. as if he
had nothing in him but what is earthly and carnal. Our souls
cleave so fast to the earth in our degenerate state, and are so much
or man's natural state. 287
addicted to the body, that they hare lost their primitive excellence
and beauty. Our understanding, will, and affections, are wofully
distempered by our senses, and enslaved to the flesh. So that with
great propriety corrupt nature is called /esA in scripture.
1. This corruption is most truly and properly sin, even in the re-
generate, where the guilt of it is removed by the blood of Christ,
and the power of it subdued by his Spirit and grace. And all the
motions thereof in them are sin ; as appears from what the apostle
says, Rom. vii. 5, 7, 8. * For when we are in the flesh, the motions
of sins which were by the law, did work in our members to bring
forth fruit unto death. What shall we say then ? Is the law sin ?
God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law : for I had
not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
But sin taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all
manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.'
Gal. V. 17. ' For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit
against the flesh : and these are contrary the one to the other, so
that ye cannot do the things that ye would.'
2. This corruption is exceeding sinful. For the law and cove-
nant of works made with Adam, as the head and representative of
all his posterity, required perfect obedience and conformity to God
both in heart and life, to love the Lord his God with all his heart,
soul, strength, and mind. God placed him in a holy and happy
state, endued him with his image, consisting in knowledge, righte-
ousness, and true holiness ; and gave him sufiicient power and
ability to perform the duty he owed to his Lord, and to continue in
the course of obedience, till he should be confirmed both in holiness
and felicity. Now, man having by sin stript himself of the image
of God, and rendered himself incapable of obeying God either in
heart or life, the law still requires all the holiness and righteous-
ness that it did when he was in his upright estate ; and the want of
conformity to the law of God must be exceeding sinful, as a breach
of the law of God, and a trampling on his image. And, in order to
affect us with a deep sense of the sinfulness of the total corruption
of our nature, let us consider,
(1.) The pregnancy of this corruption. It is indeed all sin vir-
tually, which is retailed out in many particular sinful acts. It
contains in its bowels the seed and spawn of all wickedness whatso-
ever. All treasons and disobedience, rebellions and hostilities,
against the supreme and sovereign majesty of heaven, are to be
found in it. It is the nursery, seed, and womb, yea, every sin that
is possible to be committed is in this womb, so conceived and
formed, animated and brought to the birth, as there needs nothing
288 OF THE SINFULNESS
but a temptation and opportunity to bring it forth. It may be yon
never imbrued your hands in your brother's blood, as Cain did, nor
have actually committed murder, yet the seed and spawn of it is
lurking in thy heart ; and the only reason Avhy you have kept free
from it is, because God hath restrained and kept thee back, and
hath not suffered the like temptations and occasions to come in thy
way. It may be you never set cities on fire, dashed out children's
brains, ript up women with child, as Hazael did ; yet all these sins
are lurking in thy heart, though they were never acted by thine
hands. Hazael was angry when the prophet told him so much, 2
Kings viii. 12. 13. but he acted all that afterwards and more, when
he was advanced to his master's throne. He could not think that
ever he could be guilty of such atrocious and detestable crimes, un-
less he were transformed into a dog. He was little acquainted with
the desperate wickedness of man's nature, which habitually inclines
him to the most barbarous and bloody cruelty.
2. This corruption that lies in the heart is the woful cause,
source, and spring of all the actual transgressions which stain men's
lives. Every wicked and sinful action derives its descent from this.
From whence come murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, &c ?
Our Saviour tells us. Matt. xv. 19. They proceed out of the heart.
If you will trace these streams to the true spring and fountain, you
will find it to be the sin and wickedness of the heart. This is that
seed and loathsome spawn to which all this detestable vermin owe
their original. It is fruitful and productive of all manner of evils.
It is that which fills people's mouths with cursing, swearing, lying,
slandering, &c. makes their feet swift to shed blood, and puts the
poison of asps under their tongue, Rom. iii. 14, 15. Yea, this de-
files the whole man, and stains him with an universal pollution,
Matth. XV. 18. As a lethargy in the head, or an indisposition in
the stomach, diffuseth an universal malignity through the whole
body, these being sovereign and principal parts in man; so this
wickedness that dwells in the heart, poisons the whole life. Many
a filthy and impure stream issues from this corrupt fountain.
(3.) Consider what a monstrous deformity it hath brought on the
soul. The mind of man was the candle of the Lord. As it pro-
ceeded from God it was a lightsome beam, shining with more lustre
and splendour than a ray of the sun. But now it is dark and ob-
scure, and is become a stinking and noisome dunghill. It was once
one of the brightest and most excellent pieces of the creation, next
unto the angelical nature ; but by sin it is transformed into an ugly
monster. We justly reckon that birth monstrous, where the mem-
bers have not their due place ; when the head is where the feet
OF man's natural state. 289
should be, or the legs in i>lace of the arms, &c. Thus the noble
powers and faculties of the soul are monstrously misplaced. That
which should be highest is now lowest ; that which should rule and
keep the throne, is brought into a miserable subjection and bondage :
that which should serve and obey, does now tyrannise and command.
Passion over-rules reason, and the will receives laws from the fancy
and appetite. In man's primitive state, the will was sovereign lord,
reason was its counsellor, and appetite subject to both ; but now it
hath aspired and got above them, and ofttimes carries both into a
servile compliance with the dictates of sense. Any spot or blemish
upon the face of a beautiful child, when it comes but accidentally,
grieves and afflicts the parents : how much more cause have we to
bemoan the natural, universal, and monstrous deformity which has
seized upon our souls ?
4. Consider the devilishness of this corruption. There is nothing
in all the world hath so much of the devil in it as sin. It is his
first-born, the beginning of his strength ; that which he hatched and
brought into the world. It is his work and employment, his great
master-piece, that wherein he applauds himself and glories, John
viii. 44:. This is his image that he hath drawn upon man. Those
black characters which are drawn on the soul, are of Satan's im-
pression. As face answers to face, so doth man's corrupt nature
answer the nature of the devil. It hath all the essential parts of
the diabolical nature. There is in it a strong aversion from all that
is good, so is there in him ; and a mighty propensity to all evil, so
is it in the devil. It is Satan's correspondent, that maintains secret
and constant intercourse with our mortal enemy. It is a domestic
enemy, ready on all occasions to betray the soul into the hands of
him, who is always going about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he
may devour. 0, should it not deeply humble us before God, that
we are so near a kin to hell, and have such a correspondence with
the detil ; that our corruption makes us so like unto him, and daily
affords him so great an advantage against us ?
(5.) Consider the brutishness of this corruption. Sin hurries the
soul on with a blind rage and fury to such acts and motions, as men
in their right reason would highly condemn. It is on this account
that men are compared to brute-beasts and irrational creatures : as
to the horse and the mule, to a wild ass, an untamed liiefer, &c.
The brute-creatures, though they be not capable to know God, yet
they will know and take some notice of their benefactor, and sucli
as feed and keep them. But men kick against God, they wound
Christ, and reject and expel the Holy Spirit in his motions and
operations. They bellow out reproaches against his servants, whom
290 OF THE SINFULNESS
he hath sent forth to feed and nourish their souls, Prov. xii. 1. Tlie
brutal creatures have a strong inclination to those things which
tend to their health, and to the preservation and continuance of
their life and strength ; but sin makes men averse to their own hap-
piness, and all the spiritual means which have a tendency thereunto.
The beasts are afraid of that which is hurtful and destructive to
their being : but sin pushes men on in the ways of death ; and the
paths which lead to eternal destruction. It is said, Job xi. 12. that
' man is born like a wise ass's colt.' He brings with him into the
world a heart more wild, fierce, and untamed than any beast of the
field.
6. Consider its vileness. There is nothing in the whole creation
so detestable as sin. It is the abominable thing which the Lord
hates. He cannot look upon it but with infinite abhorrence. There
is nothing so base and so contemptible as sin. The scrii)ture sets
it forth under various notions, no single one being suificient to ex-
press its vileness. It is called fiesh, Gen. vi. 3. and Gal. v. 16, 17.
This holds forth the vile degeneracy of man's soul since this corrup-
tion seized upon it. By creation it was pure and holy, heavenly
and spiritual, near a-kin to the angels, yea, as like to the nature of
God as a creature could be : but now it is transformed into flesh,
made carnal, sensual, and devilish. It is vile both formally and
effectively : filthy in itself, and hath made the whole man so. It is
compared in scripture to those things which are most vile and de-
testable in the eyes of men, as filthy vomit, defiling mire, rotten
members, putrifying sores, &c.
(7.) It excludes and debars from access to God and communion
with him. There can be no friendship between light and darkness,
between Christ and Belial, between an infinitely pure and holy God,
and vile filthy polluted sinners. We have an important question
proposed, Psal. xxiv. 3. ' Who shall ascend into the hill of the
Lord ? and who shall stand in his holy place ?' The answer is
given, ver. 4. ' He that hath clean hands, and a i)ure heart : who
hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.'
And we are told, Psal. v. 4, 5. ' Thou art not a God that hath plea-
sure in wickedness ; neither shall evil dwell with thee. The fool-
ish shall not stand in thy sight : Thou hatest all workers of iniquity.'
The heart is the temple of God, the chief place of his residence in
man ; and he will never dwell in it, unless it be made clean. There
is no access to God here or hereafter without holiness, James iv. 8.
Rev. xxi. ult.
8. Lastly, It exposeth to terrible wrath. It was sin that brought
the deluge upon the old world : and it hath brought many fearful
ov man's natckal state. 291
plagues and judgments upon the new one since. And it is this tliat
lays men open to the wrath and vengeance of God in the life that is
to come. Hence they are called ' children of wrath,' Eph. ii. 3.
They are born to wrath by nature. This is their portion and inhe-
ritance. ' The wrath of God is revealed from heaven (says the
apostle) against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. The
curses and threatenings of the law proclaim the divine displeasure,
and give warnings and intimations to sinners of what they are to
expect. There is a day of wrath coming, and of the revelation of
the righteous judgment of God, when the wicked shall be turned
into hell, and all the nations that forget God. We are exposed to
wrath on account of sin, in our conception, birth, life, and death,
and througli all eternity.
In the above three things, the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want
of original righteousness, and the corruption of the whole nature,
consists in original sin. These three things make up this monstrous
body. There lies our sinfulness which we are brought into by the
fall.
How this corruption is conveyed to all the children of men, the
scripture, even the text, makes it plain, that it is conveyed by na-
tural generation, so as all that proceed from Adam in the way of
natural generation are infected with it. But if it be asked, how
this original corruption is propagated from parents to children ?
how it comes to pass that our souls are defiled and tainted with
original sin? Indeed the question is very hand and difficult. It
may be this is one of those mysteries which are reserved for the
world to come, about which we cannot in our present state solve
every difficulty that may be moved. It is much more our duty and
interest to be solicitous how to get sin out of our souls, than to pry
and search into the way how it came into them. However, this is
certain, that God doth not infuse it. Souls receive neither purity
nor impurity from him, but only their naked essence, and the na-
tural powers and properties flowing therefrom. He doth not infuse
any impurity into men ; for he cannot be the author of sin, who is
the revenger of it. Nor doth he create men's souls in their original
purity and rectitude ; for the sin of Adam lost that, and God's
justice withholds it from his posterity. As a pure and holy God,
he cannot infuse any impurity into the souls of men ; and as a just
and righteous God, he may and doth withhold from, or create them
void and destitute of, that holiness and righteousness which was
once their happiness and glory. Again, it is probably thought by
some, that original sin comes neither in by the soul alone, nor by
the body alone, apart from the soul, but upon the union and con-
292 OP THE SINFULNESS OF MAn's NATURAL STATE.
junction of both in one person. It is the union of these two that
constitutes a child of Adam, and as such only we are capable of
being infected with his sin.
Solid divines, without a daring intrusion into unrevealed secrets,
proceed by the following steps in answering this question.
1. If it be demanded, How it comes to pass that an infant be-
comes guilty of Adam's sin ? the answer is. Because he is a child of
Adam by natural generation.
2. But why is he deprived of that original rectitude with which
Adam was created ? they answer, Because Adam lost it by his sin,
and therefore could not transmit to his posterity what he had lost.
3. But how comes he to be inclined to that which is evil ? the an-
swer is. Because he wants that original rectitude, which Adam had
when he was created. For whosoever wants original righteousness,
inclines naturally to that which is evil. And so the propension of
nature to that which is bad, seems to be by way of concomitancy
with the want of original righteousness. No action can be holy
which doth not flow from the image of God in the soul, as its root
and principle. And therefore man being despoiled of this image of
God, there is no action of any man in a state of nature but what is
sinful and corrupt. But, as I said before, it much more concerns
us how to get original corruption removed, than to inquire how it
came in.
This corruption may well be called original sin, because we have
it from our original, it being as old as ourselves ; and because it is
transmitted from Adam, the origin of mankind ; and, which is the
Last thing, because all actual transgressions proceed from it.
Matt. XV. 19. ; as I have already shewn.
I shall shut up this point with a few inferences.
1. No wonder then that we are born to trouble as the sparks fly
upward ; that we are attacked and made prisoners as soon as we
come into the world. This says that the straight way in the course
of justice would be, that we go from the womb to the grave, and
that the cradle be turned into a coffin. For, in a spiritual sense, we
are all dead born ; and no wonder that natural death should seize
those that are spiritually dead ; and that all sorts of miseries should
pursue those that are destitute of every thing that is good.
2. There is no ground for parents to be lifted up on the account
of children, however numerous and fair. For though they may have
fair faces, they have foul and deformed souls by nature ; and na-
tural beauty is far outbalanced by spiritual ugliness. Parents had
much need to carry them by faith and prayer to the fountain of
Christ's blood, to get them washed and purified from their spiritual
uncleanness.
OF THE MISERY OF MAN's NATURAL STATE. 293
3. Tliis doctrine lets us see the absolute necessity of Christ as a
Saviour, who alone is able to save us from the guilt of sin by his
blood, and from the filth and pollution of it by the washing of re-
generation and renewing of the Holy Ghost, and from the dominion
of it by the power of divine grace. ' Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of Grod,' John iii. 3.
4. Lastly, See the absolute necessity of mortification, of crucifying
the flesh ; for from it all actual sins proceed. A form of godliness
will not do. No ; we must strike at the root, otherwise the branches
will never die. The consideration of the total corruption and de-
pravation of our nature should make us all lie low in the dust be-
fore a holy God, watchful against every motion and temptation to
sin, restless till we be delivered from it, and indefatigable in the
course of the Christian warfare. And it calls every one to mourn-
ing and lamenting over the ruins of our nature, and to supplicating
the God of all grace, that he may cleanse our polluted souls, and
wash us from our sins in the blood of Jesus.
OF THE MISERY OF MAN'S NATURAL STATE.
RoM. V. 12. — Bi/ one man sin entered into the world, and death hy sin ;
and so death parsed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
These words teach us a lesson that all the books of philosophers
could never do. They were sensible of the depravity and misery of
human nature ; but how was it depraved, and what was the spring
of all the troubles the life of man is exposed to, they were utterly
ignorant. We all see a flood of misery let into the world ; but
what way the sluice was opened, we can only learn from divine re-
velation. And in this passage we have it, viz. By one man sin en-
tered into the world, and misery followed it close at the heels. This
one man was Adam, the natural root, and the federal head of all
mankind, ver. 14. In the words we have,
1. A flood of misery passing over the world. Death passed upon all
men. For understanding this, ye must compare it with Gen. ii. 17.
' In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.' This
awful threatening is marked to be accomplished here. Death there
implies loss of communion with God, which was evident in the ful-
filling of the threatening. Gen. iii. 24. when God drave out the man,
viz. from paradise, and placed a heavenly guard to prevent man's
access to the tree of life. It also implies a being under God's wrath
294 OP THE MISERY
and curse, as the threatening imports. This is spiritual death. It
further implies temporal death, a liableness to the miseries of this
life and to death itself, Gen. iii. 16. — 19.; and also eternal death;
which appears from man's being excluded paradise and the tree of
life, ver. 22. This threatened death, says the apostle, passed upon
all men. ' It is appointed unto all men once to die.' viz. a natural
death. There is no discharge in this war. All men are spiritually
dead, dead to God and happiness. And they are all subject to
eternal death, in the separation of both soul and body from God
and the felicity of the other world.
2. How the sluice by which this misery has overflowed the world
was opened. (1.) The personal cause was one man, viz. Adam. (2.)
The real cause was his sin, the sin of eating the forbidden fruit.
This sin was the sin of all : for all (viz. on whom death passed) Imve
sinned, not in their own persons, for infants on whom death has
passed, have not so sinned ; but have therefore sinned in Adam.
And this sin of the first man is the cause of all the misery that has
overtaken the human race.
The text affords the following doctrine.
DocT. ' All mankind, by their fall, lost communion with God, are
under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries of
this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell for ever.'
In discoursing from this doctrine, I shall shew,
I. That all mankind are made miserable.
II. That this misery came by their fall in Adam.
III. "What that misery is that hath by the fall overtaken all
mankind.
TV. Deduce some inferences for application.
I. That mankind, and all mankind, are made miserable, needs no
laborious proof. Sad experience in all ages confirms the truth of
this assertion. Troops of misery receive us as soon as we come into
the world, whereof some one or other always accompany us till we
be laid in the grave. Let men be clothed in rags, or wear a crown,
the garment common to all is misery. Every sigh, tear, or sorrow-
ful look, is a proof of this.
II. That this misery came upon men by the fall, is also clear from
the text. Man came not out of God's hand with the tear in his eye,
or sorrow in his heart, or a burden on his back. He never put on
his dole-weed or mourning garment, till he had by sin made himself
naked. Death never could enter the gates of the world, till sin set
them wide open. Gen. iii. And then one sin let in the flood ; and
many sins followed and increased it. The first pilot dashed the ship
on a rock, and then all that were in it were cast into a sea of
OF man's natural state. 295
misery. Our first parents fell, and we being in them felt with them
the sad and mournful effects of their fall.
III. I proceed to shew what that misery is which hath by the
fall overtaken all mankind. It may be taken up in these three
things.
1. Man's loss by the fall.
2. What he is brought under by it.
3. "What he is liable to in consequence of it.
First, Let us view man's loss by the fall. He has lost commu-
nion with God. He enjoyed it before that fatal period ; but now it
is gone. It implies two things. 1. A saving interest in God as his
God. Man could then call God his own God, his Maker, his Hus-
band, his Friend, his Portion, being in covenant with him. 2.
Sweet and comfortable society and fellowship with God : and all
this without a mediator, God and man not having been enemies or
at variance. This sweet and agreeable communion he lost, as ap-
pears from Gen. iii. 8. where it is said, ' They (our first parents)
heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool
of the day : and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the pre-
sence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.' When
God spoke to him before, it was refreshing and comfortable to him ;
but now it was a terror to him; evidently shewing that all cor-
respondence was broke up.
Thus man lost God, Eph. ii. 12. the greatest and the fountain of
all other losses. He is no more the God of fallen men, till by a
new covenant they get a new interest in him. This is the greatest
of all losses and miseries. Had the sun been for ever darkened in
the heavens, it had been no such loss as this. God is the cause and
fountain of all good ; and the loss of him must be the loss of every
thing that is good and excellent. Man is a mere nothing without
God ; a nothing in nature without his common presence, and a no-
thing in happiness without his gracious presence, Psal. xxx. 5. ' In
his favour is life.' Psal. Ixiii. 3. ' Thy loving-kindness is better
than life.' That day man fell, the foundation of the earth was
drawn away, and all fell down together ; the soul and the life de-
parted from all men, and left them all dead, having lost God, the
fountain of life and joy. Hence we may infer,
1. Man is a slave to the devil, 2 Tim. ii. 26. When the soul is
gone, men may do with the body what they will ; and when God is
gone, the devil may do with the soul what he will. Man without
God is like Samson without his hair, quite weak and unable to
resist his spiritual enemies, as Samson to oppose the Philistines.
Satan has over men in nature the power of a master, Rom. vi. 16. so
296 OF THE MISERY
that when he bids them go, they go ; and when to come, they come ;
— that of a conqueror, and so he makes them his slaves and vassals ;
— and that of a jailor, keeping them fast bound in chains, so that
they cannot escape from his clutches, Isa. Ixi. 1.
2. Man has lost his covenant-right to the creatures which he had
when in favour with his Maker; and therefore Adam was driven
out of paradise. Men have no right to the creatures, or their ser-
vice now, but that of common providence, until it be otherwise re-
stored by their coming into the bond of the new covenant.
3. Hence man is in a fruitless search after happiness in the crea-
tures, set, as a poor infant that hath lost the breasts, to suck at the
dry breasts of the creatures, where nothing is to be met with but
continued disappointments.
4. Man cannot help himself, John xv. 5. His help is alone in
God in Christ, without whom one can do nothing. He is like a
poor infant exposed, that cannot help itself, Ezek. xvi. He is like
one grievously wounded, who can neither make a plaster for his
wounds nor apply it. Ah ! how miserable is the case of man under
the fall !
Secondly, Let us consider what man is brought under by the
fall.
1. He is brought under Clod's wrath. Hence sinners are said to
be ' the children of wrath,' Eph. ii. 3. Wrath in God is mixed with
no perturbation, but is pure from all discomposure. It imports,
(1.) That sinners are under the displeasure of God. He can take
no delight in them, but his soul loaths them. There is a holy fire of
anger burning in his breast against them. Should the sun be con-
tinually under a cloud, and the heavens ever covered with black-
ness, what a miserable place would the world be ? But that is
nothing to the divine anger : ' Who knows the power of thine
anger?' says the Psalmist, Psal. xc. 11.
(2.) God deals with them as with enemies, Nah. i. 2. ' God is jea-
lous, and the Lord revengeth ; the Lord revengeth, and is furious,
the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries ; and he reserveth
wrath for his enemies,' Isa. 1. 24. — ' Ah, I will ease me of mine ad-
versaries, and avenge me of mine enemies.' To have men in power
enemies to us, is sad ; but to have God an enemy, is beyond expres-
sion dreadful : seeing we can neither fight nor flee from him, and he
can pursue the quarrel through all eternity.
2. They are under his curse, Gal. iii. 10. ' Cursed is every one
that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the
law to do them.' Now, God's curse is the binding over the sinner
to all the direful effects of his wrath. This is the dreadful yoke
OP man's natural state. 297
which tlie broken law wreaths about the neck of every sinner as in
a natural state. God's curse is a tying of the sinner to the stake,
that the law and justice of God may disburden all their arrows into
his soul, and that in him may meet all the miseries and plagues that
flow from the avenging wrath of God.
Thus every sinuer, while in a natural state, is under the wrath
and curse of God; a burden on him, that if not removed by him
who was made under the law, and bore the curse thereof, will sink
sinners into the lowest pit of hell.
TuiEDLY, Let us next consider what man is liable to, both in this
world and that which is to come.
First, In this world, he is liable.
1. To all the miseries of this life. Now these are twofold.
1st, Outward miseries. There is a flood of these that man is sub-
ject to ; as,
(1.) God's curse upon the creature for our sake. Gen. iii. 17.
' Cursed is the ground for thy sake.' Under the weight of this
curse the whole creation groans and travails in pain, longing for
deliverance. It is not the gi'oan of a wearied beast desiring to be
disburdened of its load, but a groan the eff"ect of the fall of man.
The treason and rebellion of man against his rightful Lord and So-
vereign, brought distress and misery upon all that was formed for
his use ; as when the majesty of a prince is violated by the rebellion
of his subjects, all that belongs to them, and was before the free
gift of the prince, is foi'feited and taken from them. Their lands,
palaces, cattle, even all that pertains to them, bear the marks of his
sovereign fury. Consult Dent, xxviii. 15, &c.
(2.) Outward miseries, such as sword, famine, and pestilence.
Many times the curse of the Lord makes the heavens as brass, and
the earth as iron, binds up the clouds, and restrains their necessary
influences, so that the fruits of the earth are dried up. It raises
divisions, wars, and mutinies in a kingdom. All the confusions and
disorders which are to be seen among men, are the woful fruits and
native results of sin. It kindles and blows up the fire of discord in
families, cities, and nations. This is that fury that brings a smok-
ing fire-brand from hell, and sets the whole world in a combustion.
Pride and ambition, covetousness and desire of revenge, have made
the world a stage of the most bloody tragedies. ^Ve have some
terrible threatenings Avith respect to these judgments, Deut. xxviii.
Lev. xxvi. And they arc all summed up in one verse, Ezek. v. 17.
' I will send upon you famine, and evil beasts, and they shall be-
reave thee ; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee, and
and I will bring the sword upon thee : I the Lord have spoken it.'
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298 OF THE MISERY
(3.) Miseries on men's bodies, sickness and bodily pains, as burn-
ing fevers, languishing consumptions, distorting convulsions, ugly-
deformities, gout and gravel, and all the dismal train of wasting
diseases and acute pains. Sin hath made man's body a seminary of
diseases, and planted in it the fatal seeds and principles of corrup-
tion and dissolution, and made him liable to attacks from all dis-
tempers, from the torturing stone to the wasting consumption.
(4.) On our estates, as losses, crosses, wrongs, and oppressions.
How often do those in trade suffer heavy losses by the bankruptcies
of their debtors, by unfair practices, and sinistrous dealings, by
cheating and tricking, by extortion and rapine, &c ?
(5.) On our names, by reproach, disgrace, &c. Many estates are
blasted, and families reduced to poverty and contempt, which some-
time have made a good figure in the world. People are made to
groan under pinching straits and wants, and yet they seldom con-
sider the bitter root from whence all this springs. It is sin that
makes men poor, mean, low, and contemptible in the world, and that
brings reproach and disgrace ui)on their names, Deut. xxviii. 37.
(6.) On our employments and callings. These are many times
full of j)ain, labour, and disappointments. Men earn wages, and
put it into a bag with holes, and they disquiet and vex themselves
in vain. Whence are our cares and fears but from sin ? Fear is
the ague of the soul that sets it a shaking. Some fear want, and
others alarms. "Whence come all the disappointments of our hopes
and expectations but from sin ? When we look for comfort, there
is a cross ; where we expect honey and sweetness, there we find
wormwood and gall.
(7.) On our relations, unequal uncomfortable marriages, false and
treacherous friends, harsh and cruel masters, undutiful and unfaith-
ful servants. It is sin that makes children ungrateful and unduti-
ful to parents : they that should be as the staff of their parents' old
age, are as a sword many times to pierce their hearts. It is sin
that makes wives disobedient to their husbands, and to defile their
beds.
^dly, Inward spiritual miseries : As (1.) ' Blindness of mind,'
Eph. iv. 13. the devil putting out the eyes that would not receive
the light of the gospel, 1 Cor. iv. 4. (2.) ' A reprobate sense,' Rom.
i. 28. whereby men are left of Grod so as to have no sense of discern-
ing betwixt good and evil, but take bitter for sweet, and sweet for
bitter. (3.) ' Strong delusions,' 2 Thess. ii. 11. whereby men, for-
saking the truth, doat on the fancies and imaginations of their own
hearts, and embrace lies for solid truths. (4.) ' Hardness of heart,'
Rom. ii. 5. whereby men's hearts are hardened from the fear of the
OF man's natural state. 299
Lord, and proof against conviction, and means used for awakening
them. (5.) ' Vile affections,' Rom. i. 26. eagerly desiring sin and
vanity, and all manner of filtliiness, without regard to the dictates
of reason and a natural conscience. (6.) Lastly, Fear, sorrow, and
horror of conscience, which torment men, embitter life, and often
bring death in their train, Isaiah xxxiii. 14.
2. At the end of this life, man is liable to death, Rom. vi. 23.
' The wages of sin is death.' The soul must be separated from the
body ; the man falls into the hands of the king of terrors, and goes
down to the house appointed for all living.
Object. But if these things be the effects of the fall, how comes it
that those who are delivered from the curse of the law and the
wrath of God by Jesus Christ, sustain these outward miseries, and
die as well as others ? A^is. Because the delivery is but imperfect ;
but when they shall be free from sin, they shall be free from all
these. In the meantime there is a great difference betwixt them :
for the sting of God's wrath as a judge is taken out of them to the
godly, and they are not accomplishments of the threatenings of the
covenant of works, Rom. vi. 14. but of those of the covenant of
grace, Psal. Ixxxix. 31, 32, 33. and why may not the Lord take
some of those things threatened under the covenant of works, and
give them a gospel-die, and inilict them according to the second co-
venant, as well as he does with the commands, which they are still
obliged to obey ?
Secondly, Let us consider what man is liable to in the world to
come. He is liable to the pains of hell for ever. There the Jor-
dan of wrath will overflow all its banks, and that throughout eter-
nal ages. These pains of hell consist in two things, the punishment
of loss, and the punishment of sense.
1. In the punishment of loss. This is unspeakably great, and
cannot be sufficiently set forth by the tongue of man. I shall only
glance at it a little, without enlarging on particulars. (1.) They
will lose all the good things which they enjoyed here in the world,
their wealth, their riches, their profits and pleasures, and whatever
things they set their heart on while here. (2.) The favourable pre-
sence and enjoyment of God and Christ. They will be for ever
banished from the beatific vision of God in glory. For he will say
to them at the last day, ' Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlast-
ing fire, prepared for the devil and his angels,' Matth. xxv. 41. (3.)
The blessed company and society of the holy angels and glorified
saints in heaven. (4.) All the glory and blessedness above. (5.)
All pity and compassion, having none to commiserate, their condi-
tion, or regard their pain. (6.) All hope and expectation of deli-
u2
300 OF THE MISERY OP MAN's NATURAL STATE.
verance and outgate from their misery. (7-) All possibility of
deliverance from their torments. The door of the pit shall be shut
upon them for ever, and their fetters shall never be loosed. Thus
sinners in hell shall lose every thing that is good and agreeable,
even God the chief good, and all the happiness he has prepared for
them that love him.
2. In the punishment of sense. They shall suffer the most griev-
ous torments both in soul and body, and that without intermission,
for evermore. These torments are beyond expression, and our most
fearful thoughts cannot equal the horror of them. * Who knows
the power of thine anger ?' says the Psalmist. No man can tell
what those plagues and woes are which infinite justice and almighty
power hath prepared for obstinate sinners. 0 that we may be pre-
vailed upon to flee from this wrath that is to come, that so we may
not fall into the hands of the living God, and may not be made the
dreadful objects of everlasting vengeance.
I conclude with a few inferences.
1. See here the great evil of sin. Many reckon it but a small
matter to transgress God's holy and righteous law. They can curse
and swear, lie and steal, and commit many other enormous crimes,
and yet have no trouble or remorse about it. But if they would
consider the dreadful effects of sin, they would be of another mind.
Sin is the worst of evils, and big with all kinds of evils whatsoever.
It has brought a flood of miseries into the world, which has over-
flowed the whole creation, under the weight of which the earth and
all its inhabitants are groaning. It is the great makebate between
God and sinners ; it has shut the door of access to God upon us, and
exposed us to his wrath and curse in this life and that which is to
come.
2. Woful is the case of all who are in a state of nature. They
are far from God ; they have no interest in or fellowship with him ;
they are under his wrath and curse, liable to all the miseries of this
life, and to the vengeance of eternal fire in the world to come.
They are fallen under the power and tyranny of the devil, and if
mercy prevent not, shall dwell with him in the lake that burneth
with fire and brimstone for ever. Whatever your situation and
circumstances in the world may be, 0 ye that are yet in your natu-
ral state, ye are in a miserable condition ; for ye are without God,
the fountain of all good. Ye may read, pray, and communicate,
but ye can have no communion with God. Men may be pleased
with and bless you ; but ye are under God's wrath and curse ; and
will continue so till ye by faith embrace God in Christ as your God.
3. Lastly, Arise, 0 ye sinners who are yet in your natural state,
OF ELECTION TO EVERLASTING LIFE. 301
and depart ; for this is not your rest. Come to the Lord Jesus, -vrho
alone can open the door of access to God, whose blood quenches the
fire of wrath, and who can deliver from the curse of the law. "Who
would stay in a house ready to fall ? who can sleep sound in a case
where God is an enemy ? Lay these things seriously to heart, and
flee from the wrath ye lie under, for the plague is begun already ;
and speedily tlee from the wrath to come : for it is a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of the living God.
OF ELECTION TO EVERLASTING LIFE.
Eph. I. 3, 4, 5. — Blessed he the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ who hath blessed us with all spintual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ. According as he hath chosen us in him, before the founda-
tion of the world, that lue should be holy, and without blame before
him in love : having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by
Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his luill.
The answer to the question, ' Did God leave all mankind to perish
in the state of sin and misery V contains two heads of doctrine of
great importance in the Christian system, viz. the doctrine of elec-
tion, and the covenant of grace, each of wliich I shall speak to
distinctly. I shall discourse of the first from the text now read.
In which we have,
1. A party brought out of their natural state into a state of sal-
vation, ver. 3. — Wlio hath blessed us with all spintual blessings in hea-
venly places. For whereas by nature they were under the curse, now
they are blessed, and that plentifully, with all blessings, not tem-
poral only, but spiritual and heavenly, coming from heaven, and to
be consummated there.
2. The person by whom they are brought into this state. It is
by the Redeemer, as the purchaser. God the Father bestows them,
as the Father of Christ, viz. for his sake. And they are blessed in
Christ, upon account of his merit, and coming from him as their
Head.
3. Who those are whom God brings out of their natural state in-
to a state of grace ; the elect, ver. 4, 5. According as he hath chosen
us in him, Sfc. Where consider,
(1.) Election itself, he hath chosen us, separated us from others in
his purpose and decree, selected us from among the rest of mankind,
whom he passed by and left to perish in their natural state.
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302 OP ELECTION TO EVERLASTING LIFE.
(2.) That to which they are elected : that is, to salvation, and the
means leading tliereto. The means are, sanctification, that we should
he holy, and tuithout blame before him in love ; and adoption, ver. 5.
that whereas they are by nature children of the devil, they should
be children of God. The end is everlasting life in heaven ; for that
is imported in adoption, Rom. viii. 23. as the inheritance of the
children of God.
(3.) Through whom this decree is to be executed, in him ; that is,
Christ, whom the Father chose to be the head of the elect, through
whom he would save them.
(4.) When God elected them, before the foundation of the ivorld,
ere they were created ; that is, from eternity ; as appears from
what our Lord says to his Father, John xvii. 24. ' Thou lovedst me
before the foundation of the world ;' which can denote nothing else
than from eternity.
(3.) That which moved him to elect them, according to the good
pleasure of his ivill ; that is, his mere good i)leasure, so he would do
it ; and there was nothing without himself to move him thereto.
The words afford a foundation for the following doctrine.
DocT. ' God left not all mankind to perish in the state of sin and
misery, but having from all eternity elected some to everlasting
life, brings them into a state of salvation by a Redeemer.'
In illustrating this doctrine, I shall shew,
I. "What election is.
TI. "Who are elected.
III. What they are chosen to.
ly. The properties of this election.
Y. That all the elect, and only they, are in time brought out of a
state of sin and misery into a state of salvation.
YI. By whom they are saved.
YII. Lastly, Conclude with some improvement.
I. Our first business is, to shew what election is. It is that de-
cree of God whereby some men are chosen out from among the rest
of mankind, and appointed to obtain eternal life by Jesus Christ,
flowing from the mere good pleasure of God ; as appears from the
text. So the elect are they whom God has chosen to everlasting
life. Acts xiii. 48. God seeing all mankind lost in Adam from all
eternity, in his decree separated some from among them, to be re-
deemed by his Son, sanctified by his Spirit, and brought to glory.
II. I proceed to shew who are elected. Who they are in par-
ticular, God only knows ; but in general we say.
That it is not all men, but some only. For where all are taken,
there is no choice made. To say that God has made choice, plainly
OP ELECTION TO EVERLASTING LIFE. 303
imports that others are not chosen, but passed by. And so there is
another party of men who are reprobated ; that is, whom God has
not chosen to life, but has decreed to let them lie in their natural
state, and to damn them for their sins, Jude 4 ; whom he shews not
saving mercy unto, but hardens, they first hardening themselves,
Rom. ix. 18. Here is no injustice in God, seeing he might have left
all to perish as well as some. This is also clear from plain scrip-
ture. Mat. XX. 16. * Many arc called, but few chosen.' Whence also
it is plain, that the elect arc the lesser number of the world, Mat.
vii. 13, 14. ' Enter ye in at the strait gate (says Christ) ; for wide is
the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many
there be which go in thereat : Because strait is the gate, and narrow
is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.'
They are a little fx)ck, Luke xii. 32. Yet the efficacy of the Lord's
love and Christ's death is more and greater than that of Adam's
sin, seeing it is greater to save one soul than to ruin all. And
further, the scripture teaches, that though God has his own of all
sorts, yet this blessed company, God does not make up, chiefly of
the highest and most honourable among men. 1 Cor. i. 26, 27, 28.
' Ye see your calling ; how that not many wise men after the flesh,
not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God hath chosen
the foolish things of the world to confound the wise ; and God hath
chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which arc
despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring
to nought things that are.'
IIL The next head is, to shew what they are chosen to,
1. They are chosen to be partakers of everlasting life. Hence
the scripture speaks of some being ' ordained to eternal life,' Acts
xiii. 48. and of ' appointing them to obtain salvation,' 1 Thess. v. 9.
God appoints some to be rich, great, and honourable, some to be
low and mean in the world ; and others to be in a middle station,
objects neither of envy nor contempt ; but electing love appoints
those on whom it falls to be saved from sin, and all the ruins of the
fall; its great view is to eternal glory in heaven. To this tliey
were appointed before they had a being.
2. They are chosen also to grace as the mean, as well as to glory
as the end. God's predestinating them to eternal blessedness in-
cludes both, as in the text; and it further appears from 2 Thess. ii.
13. ' God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.' Hence faith is
held out as a certain consequent of election. Acts xiii. 48. 'As
many as were ordained unto eternal life, believed.' The man who
304 OP ELECTION TO EVERLASTING LIFE.
intends to dwell in a house yet unbuilt, intends also the means by
which it may be made a lit habitation. So God having from eter-
nity pitched on a select number of the ruined race of mankind as
objects of his love, and having predestinated them to everlasting
life, intended also the means necessary and proper for obtaining
that glorious end. And therefore there is no ground from the de-
cree of election to slight the means of salvation. God has so joined
the end and the means, that none can put them asunder.
IV. Let us consider the properties of election.
1. It is altogether free, without any moving cause, but God's
mere good pleasure. No reason can be found for this but only in
the bosom of God. There is nothing before, or above, or without
his purpose, that can be pitched upon as the cause of all that grace
and goodness that he bestows upon his chosen ones. There was no
merit or motive in them, as Christ told his disciples, John xv. 16.
' Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.' His choice is an-
tecedent to ours. The persons who are singled out to be the objects
of his special grace, were a part of lost mankind, the same by na-
ture with others who were jjassed by, and left to perish in their sin.
When God had all Adam's numerous progeny under the view of
his all-seeing eye, he chose some, and passed by others. He found
nothing in the creature to cast the balance of his choice, or to deter-
mine it to one more than another. Tliose that were rejected were
as eligible as those that were chosen. They were all his creatures,
and all alike obnoxious to his wrath by sin. It was grace alone
that made the difference. So the prophet argues, Mai. i. 2, 3. 'I
have loved you, saith the Lord : yet ye say, wherein hast thou loved
- us ? was not Esau Jacob's brother ? saith the Lord : yet I loved
Jacob, and I hated Esau.' And this is abundantly clear in the
text. Why doth God write some men's names in the book of life,
and leave out others ? why doth he enrol some whom he intends to
make citizens of Zion, and heirs of immortal glory, and refuse to
put others in his register ? The text tells us, it is the good pleasure
of his lulll.
You may, says an eminent divine, render a reason for many of
God's actions, till you come to this, which is the top and foundation
of all ; and this act can be reduced to no other head of reason, but
to that of his royal prerogative. If you inquire, why doth God
save some, and condemn others at last? the reason is, because of the
faith of the one, and the unbelief of the other. But why do some
men believe ? It is because God hath not only given them the
means of grace, but accompanied these means with the power and
efficacy of the Spirit. But why did God accompany these means
OP ELECTION TO EVEKLASTING LIFE. 305
with the efficacy of his Spirit in some, and not in others ? It is be-
cause he decreed by his grace to prepare them for glory. But why
did he decree and chuse some to glory, and not others ? Into what
can you resolve this, but only into his sovereign pleasure ? Salva-
tion and damnation at the last upshot are acts of God as the
righteous Judge and Governor of the world, giving life and eternal
happiness to believers, and inflicting death and eternal misery upon
unbelievers, conformable to his own law. Men may render a reason
for these proceedings. But the choice of some and the preterition
of others, is an act of God as he is a sovereign monarch, before any
law was actually transgressed, because not actually given. What
reason can be given for his advancing one part of matter to the
noble dignity of a star, and leaving another part to make up the
dark body of the earth ? to compact one part into a glorious sun,
and another part into a hard rock, but his royal prerogative ?
"What is the reason that a prince subjects one malefactor to con-
dign punishment, and lifts up another to a place of profit and trust?
It is merely because he will, Rom. ix. 18. Hence we may infer,
(1.) That God did not chuse men to everlasting life and happiness
for any moral perfection that he saw in them ; because he converts
those, and changes them by his grace, who are most sinful and pro-
fligate, as the Gentiles, who were soaked in idolatry and supersti-
tion. He found more faith among the Romans, who were Pagan
idolaters, than among the Jews, who were the peculiar people of
God, and to Avhom his heavenly oracles were committed. He planted
a saintship at Corinth, a place notorious for the infamous worship
of Venus, a superstition attended with the grossest uncleanness ;
and at Ephesns, that presented the world with a cup of fornication
in the temple of Diana. And what character had the Cretians from
one of their own poets, mentioned by the apostle in his epistle to
Titus, whom he had placed among them to further the progress of
the gospel, but the vilest and most abominable liars, and not to be
credited ; evil beasts, not to be associated with ; slow bellies, fit for
no service. Now what merit and attractive was here ? What in-
vitements could he have from lying, beastliness, and gluttony, bnt
only from his own sovereignty ? By this he plucked firebrands out
of the burning, while he left straiter and more comely sticks to con-
sume to ashes.
(2.) God doth not chuse men to grace and glory for any civil per-
fection that is in them ; because he calls and renews the most des-
picable. He doth not elevate nature to grace on account of wealth
or honour, or any civil station or dignities in the world, 1 Cor. i. 26.
forecited. A purple robe is very seldom decked and adorned with
306 OP ELECTION TO EVERLASTING LIFE.
the jewel of grace. He takes more of the monldy clay, than of re-
fined dust, to cast into his image, and lodges his treasures more in
the earthly vessels, than in the world's golden ones. Should God
impart his grace most to those who abound in wealth and honour, it
had laid a foundation for men to think, that he had been moved by
those vulgarly esteemed excellencies, and to indulge them more
than others. But such a conceit languisheth, and falls to the
ground, when we behold the subjects of divine grace as void ori-
ginally of any allurements as they are full of provocations.
(3.) Their foreseen faith and good works, or perseverance in either
of them, are not the cause of election ; because these are the fruits
and effects, and therefore cannot be the causes of election, Rom. viii.
29. Acts. xiii. 48. It is clear also from this text, where it is said,
they are chosen to be holy, and to adoption, and therefore to faith,
by which we obtain it, John. i. 12. God did not chuse and elect
men to grace and glory because they were holy, or because he did
foresee that they would be so, but that he might purify and make
them holy. And let it be observed, that the scripture attributes
election only to God's good pleasure, Rom. ix. 11, 13, 16. Mat. xi.
25. And indeed, if it depended on foreseen faith or good works, we
should rather be said to chuse God than he to chuse us.
4. God did not chuse some to life and happiness, because he was
under any obligation to do so. He is indebted to none, and he is
disobliged by all. He was under no tie to pity man's misery, and
repair the ruins of the fall. He owes no more debt to fallen man
than to fallen angels, to restore them to their first station by a su-
perlative grace, God as a Sovereign gave laws to man, and strength
sufficient to observe them. Now, what obligation is upon God to
repair that strength which man hath wilfully lost, and to pull him
out of that miserable pit into which he had voluntarily plunged
himself? None at all. So then there was nothing in the elect more
than others to move God to chuse them either to grace or glory. It
was, and must be, the gracious issue and result of his sovereign will
and mere good pleasure.
2. Election is eternal. They are elected from all eternity, Eph.
i. 4. chosen before the foundation of the world, 2 Tim. i. 9. ' He hath
saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was given
us in Christ Jesus before the world began.' All God's decrees are
eternal, Eph. i 11. 'We are predestinated according to the purpose
of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.
God takes no new counsels, to do which would be inconsistent with
his infinite perfection. Because God is eternal, his purposes must
OF ELECTION TO EVERLASTING LIFE. 307
be of equal duration with his existence. And to imagine that an
infinitely wise and sovereign Being existed from eternity, without
any forethought, or resolution what to do, would be to suppose him
to be undetermined or unresolved, at the time of his giving being to
all things. And to suppose that the divine will is capable of new
determinations, is to argue him to be imperfect ; which would be as
much an instance of mutability in him, as for him to alter his pur-
pose. Election to everlasting life, must therefore be eternal.
3. It is particular and definite. God has chosen a cei'tain num-
ber of the children of men to life, whom he knows by name, so as
they can neither be more nor fewer. Hence their names are said
to be written in the book of life, Luke x. 20. Phil. iv. 3. and others
are said not to be written there, Rev. xvii. 8. Though they are
known to none, yet God knows them all, 2 Tim. ii. 19. And they
are given to Christ, John xvii. 9. Therefore God's decree of elec-
tion is not a general decree only to save all that shall believe and
persevere in the faith ; for that way it might happen that none at
all might be saved.
4. It is secret, or cannot be known, till God be pleased to disco-
ver it. Hence it is called ' the mystery of his will,' Eph. i. 9. as
being hid in God from before the foundation of the world, and
would for ever have been so, had he not discovered it in his word.
It is unchangeable. Mutability is an imperfection peculiar to
creatures. As the least change in God's understanding, so as to
know more or less than that hid from eternity, would be an instance
of imperfection ; the same must be said with respect to his holy
will, which cannot be susceptible of new determinations. Though
there are many changes in the external dispensations of his provi-
dence, which are the result of his will, as well as the effects of his
power ; yet there is no shadow of change in his purpose. No un-
foreseen occurrence can render it expedient for God to change his
mind, nor can any higher power oblige him to do it ; nor can any
defect of power to accomplish his design, induce him to alter his
purpose. Those who are once elected can never be reprobated. All
that are elected shall most certainly be saved. None of them can
be left to perish. For all the divine purposes are unchangeable,
and must be fulfilled, Isa. xlvi. 10. ; and this in particular, 2 Tim.
ii. 19. Election is the foundation of God's house, laid by his own
hand, which cannot be shaken, but stands sure ; and a sealed foun-
dation, as men seal what they will have ; a seal of two parts secur-
ing it; on God's part, God loves and keeps them that are his, that
they fall not away ; on our part, the same God takes care that his
elect depart from iniquity. It is not possible they can be totally
308 OP ELECTION TO EVERLASTING LIFE.
and finally deceived, Matth. xxiv. 24, and whom God has chosen he
glorifies, Rom. viii. 29, 30. When we are bid make our election
sure, it is meant of certainty and assurance as to our knowledge of
it, and by no means of God's purpose.
V. The next thing is to shew, that all the elect, and they only,
are in time brought out of a state of sin and misery into a state of
salvation.
1. All the elect are redeemed by Christ, John x. 15. 'I lay down
my life for the sheep,' says he. They are all in due time, by the
power of the Spirit, regenerated, converted, and brought to Christ,
and get faith to lay hold on him, John vi. 37. ' All that the Fa-
ther giveth me shall come to me.' Acts xiii. 48. ' As many as were
ordained to eternal life believed.' Everlasting love at length breaks
forth in bringing them to grace, Jer. xxxi. 3. ' I have loved thee
with an everlasting love : therefore with loving-kindness have I
drawn thee.' They are all justified, adopted and sanctified, Rom,
viii. 30. ; and all of them j)ersevere in grace, John xvii. 12. 1 Pet.
i. 5. And all this by virtue of their election, Tit. ii. 14.
2. None other but the elect are brought into a state of salvation ;
none but they are redeemed, sanctified, and believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ, John xvii. 9. Christ prays not for them. Those that
perish were never redeemed, nor experienced a saving change pass-
ing upon them, as appears from Rom. viii. 29, 30. and 1 John ii. 19.
God has passed them by, and suffers them to perish in their sin and
guilt.
YI. I come to shew by whom the elect are saved. It is by Christ
the Redeemer. Hence the apostle says, Tit. iii. 4, 5, 6. ' After that
the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not
by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his
mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of
the Holy Ghost ; which he shed on us abundantly, through Jesus
Christ our Saviour.' There is no other way of salvation but by him.
Acts iv. 12. By him is all grace and glory purchased, and by his
satisfaction there is a way opened for the venting of mercy with the
good leave of justice. More particularly,
1. Before the elect could be delivered from that state of sin and
misery into which they had brought themselves, a valuable satisfac-
tion behoved to be given to the justice of God for the injury done by
sin. It is evident from scripture, that God stood upon full satisfac-
tion, and would not remit one sin without it. Several things plead
strongly for this :
As, (1.) The infinite purity and holiness of God. There is a con-
trariety in sin to the holiness of his nature, which is his peculiar
OF ELECTION TO EVERLASTING LIFE, 309
glory ; and from thence his hatred of it doth arise, which is as es-
sential to him as his love to himself. The infinite purity and recti-*
tilde of his nature infers the most perfect abhorrence of whatever is
opposite to it. Hence says the Psalmist, Psal. v. 4, 5. ' Thou art
not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness : neither shall evil
dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou
hatest all workers of iniquity.' God cannot but hate all the Avorkers
of iniquity, and he cannot but punish them. Ilis holiness is not only
voluntary, but by necessity of nature. He is of purer eyes than to
behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity.
(2.) The justice of God pleads for a valuable satisfaction for sin.
And here we are not to consider God as a private person wronged,
but as the righteous Judge and Governor of the world, and the so-
vereign Protector of those sacred laws by which the reasonable
creature is to be directed. Now, as it was most reasonable and
convenient, that at the first giving of the law he should lay the
strongest restraint upon man for preventing sin by the threatening
of death ; so it was most just and congruous, when the law was
broken by man's rebellion, that the penalty should be inflicted
either upon the person of the offender, according to the immediate
intent of the law, or that satisfaction equivalent to the offence
should be made, that the majesty and purity of God miglit appear
in his justice. He is the Judge of all the earth, and cannot but do
right.
(3.) The wisdom of God, by which he governs the rational world,
admits not of a dispensation or relaxation of the threatening with-
out a valuable satisfaction. For it is as good to have no king as no
laws for government, and as good to have no law as no penalty, and
as good that no penalty be annexed to the law as no execution of it.
Hence, says a learned divine. It is altogether indecent, especially
to the wisdom and righteousness of God, that that which provoketh
the execution of the law, should procure the abrogation of it, as
that should supplant and undermine the law, for the alone preven-
tion of which the law was made. How could it be expected, that
men should fear and tremble before God, when they should find
themselves more scared and hurt by his threatenings against sin ?
(4.) The truth and veracity of God required a satisfaction for sin.
The word had gone out of God's mouth, ' In the day that thou eat-
est thereof thou shalt surely die ;' and again it is said, ' Cursed is
every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the
book of the law to do them.' Now, this sentence was immutable,
and the word that had gone out of his mouth must stand. Had
God violated his truth by dispensing with the punishment threatened,
310 OF ELECTION TO EVERLASTING LIFE.
he had rendered himself an unfit object of trust ; he liad exposed
all the promises or threatenings which he should have made after
man's impunity, to the mockery and contempt of the offender, and
excluded his word from any credit with man for the future. And
therefore God's word could not fall to the ground without an ac-
complishment. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but his word
shall stand firm. lie will be true to his threatenings, though thou-
sands and millions should perish.
2. As satisfaction to justice was necessary, and that which God
insisted upon, so the elect could not give it themselves, neither was
there any creature in heaven and earth that could do it for them.
Heaven and earth were at an infinite loss to find out a ransom for
their souls. We may apply to this purpose what we have, Isa.
Ixiii. 5. ' I looked, and there was none to help ; and I wondered
that there was none to 'uphold.' This is the desperate and forlorn
condition of the elect by nature as well as others.
3. God pitched upon Christ in his infinite grace and wisdom as
the fittest person for managing this grand design. Hence it is said,
' I have laid help upon one that is mighty.' And the apostle saith,
he ' hath set him forth to be a propitiation for sin.' On this ac-
count he is called ' his servant whom he hath chosen, and his elect
in whom his soul delighteth.' God speaks to them, as Job xxxiii.
24. ' Deliver him from going down to the pit : I have found a
ransom.'
4. Christ accepted the ofiice of a Redeemer, and engaged to make
his soul an oftering for sin. He cheerfully undertook this work in
that eternal transaction that was between the Father and him. He
was content to stand in the elect's room, and to submit himself to
the terrible strokes of vindictive justice. He is brought in by the
Psalmist offering himself as a Surety in their stead, Psal. xl. 6, 7-
' Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire, &c. Then said I, Lo,
I come,' &c. He willingly yielded to all the conditions requisite
for the accomplishment of our redemption. He was content to take
a body, that he might be capable to suffer. The debt could not be
paid, nor the articles of the covenant performed, but in the human
nature. He was therefore to have a nature capable of and pre-
pared for sufferings. Hence it is said, Heb. x. 5. ' Sacrifice and
offering thou wouldst not ; but a body hast thou prepared me.' It
behoved him to have a body to sufter that which was represented by
these legal sacrifices wherein God took no pleasure. And he took
a body of flesh, surrounded with the infirmities of our fallen nature,
sin only excepted. He condescended to lay aside the robes of his
glory, to make himself of no reputation, to take upon him the form
of a servant, and be found in the likeness of men.
OF ELECTION TO EVEKLASTINa LIFE. 311
5. Christ satisfied oifended justice in the room of the elect, and
purchased eternal redemption for them. ' He became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross,' Phil. ii. 8. This was the prime
article in the covenant of grace, ' When he shall make his soul an
offering for sin, he shall see his seed,' Isa. liii. 10. God required
this sacrifice exclusive of all others in the first treaty. ' Sacrifice
and burnt-oflerings thou wouldst not ; in them thou hadst no plea-
sure : then said I, Lo, I come,' &c. These sacrifices "vrere entirely-
useless for the satisfaction of justice, though fit to prefigure the
grand sacrifice tliat God intended. It was by the death of Christ *
alone that redemption was purchased for men, Rom. v. 10. Eph. ii.
13. Col. i. 21. And when he was upon the cross, he cried, ' It is
finished ;' that is, the work of redemption is accomplished ; I have
done all that was appointed for me to do ; the articles on my part
are now fulfilled ; there remain no more deaths for me to suffer.
Thus the elect are saved by the Lord Jesus Christ.
I shall conclude all with a few inferences.
1. Behold here the freedom and glory of sovereign grace, which
is the sole cause why God did not leave all mankind to perish in
the state of sin and misery, as he did the fallen angels. He was no
more obliged to the one than the other. "Why did he chuse any of
the fallen race of men to grace and glory ? It was his mere good
pleasure to pitch on some, and pass by others. He could have been
without them all, without any spot either on his happiness or jus-
tice ; but out of his mere good pleasure he pitched his love on a
select number, in whom he will display the invincible eflicacy of his
sovereign grace, and thereby bring them to the fruition of glory.
This proceeds from his absolute sovereignty. Justice or injustice
comes not info consideration here. If he had pleased, he might
have made all the objects of his love ; and if he had pleased he
might have chosen none, but have suflfered Adam and all his nume-
rous offspring to sink eternally into the pit of perdition. It was in
his supreme power to have left all mankind under the rack of his
justice ; and, by the same right of dominion, he may pick out some
men from the common mass, and lay aside others to bear the punish-
ment of their crimes. There is no cause in the creature but all in
God. It must be resolved into his sovereign will. So it is said,
Rom. ix. 15, 16. He saith to Moses, ' I will have mercy, on whom
I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have
compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that
runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.' And yet God did not
will without wisdom. He did not chuse hand over head, and act by
mere will without reason and understanding. An infinite wisdom
312 OF ELECTION TO EVERLASTINU LIFE.
is far from such a kind of procedure. But the reason of God's pro-
ceedings is inscrutable to us, unless we could understand God as
well as he understands himself. The rays of his infinite wisdom are
too hright and dazzling for our weak and shallow capacities. The
apostle acknowledges not only a wisdom in his proceeding, but
riches and a treasure of wisdom ; and not only that, but a depth
and vastness of these riches of wisdom ; but was wholly incapable
to give a scheme and inventory of it. Hence he cries out, Rom. xi.
33. ' 0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of
God ! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past find-
ing out !' Let us humbly adore the divine sovereignty. We should
cast ourselves down at God's feet, with a full resignation of our-
selves to his sovereign pleasure. This is a more becoming carriage
in a Christian, than contentious endeavours to measure God by our
line.
2. This doctrine should stop men's murmurings and silence all
their pleadings with or against God, 0 what strivings are there
sometimes in the hearts of men about God's absolute sovereignty in
electing some and rejecting others ? The apostle insists much upon
this in Rom. ix. where, having represented the Lord speaking thus
by Moses, ver. 15. ' I will have mercy, on whom I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion ;' he
presently prevents an objection, or the strife of man with God about
that saying, ver. 19. ' Thou wilt say then unto me, "Why doth he yet
find fault ? for who hath resisted his will ?' This is man's plea
against the sovereign will of God. But what saith the Lord by the
apostle to such a pleader? We have his reproof of him for an
answer, in ver. 20. 'Nay but, 0 man, who art thou that repliest
against God ? shall the thing formed say unto him that formed it,
Why hast thou made me thus ?' The apostle brings in this argu-
ment as to man's eternal state. He must not strive with God about
that. He must not say, Why doth God find fault with man ? His
absolute power in his reason why he disposeth thus or thus of thee,
or any other man. He will give thee no account why it is so ; but
his own will to have it so. He may chuse some for the glory of his
rich, free, and sovereign grace, and leave others to perish in their
sins for the glory of his power and justice. This should stop men's
mouths, and make them sit down quietly under all God's dealings.
3. This is ground of humility and admiration to the elect of God,
and shows them to what they owe the ditference that is between
them and others, even to free grace. Those who are passed by were
as eligible as those that were chosen. Though God hath dignified
them, and raised them to be heirs of glory, yet they were heirs of
OF ELECTIOK TO EVERLASTING LIFE. 313
wrath, and no better than others by nature, Eph. ii. 3. Well may
they say with David in another case, ' Lord, what am I, or what is
my father's house, that thou hast brought me hitherto ?' All were
in the same corrupt mass, and nothing but free grace made the dif-
ference between the elected and the non-elected.
4. Then the elect shall not persist in their infidelity and natural
state, but shall all be effectually called and brought in to Christ.
"Whatever good things God hath purposed for them shall surely be
conferred upon and wrought in them by the irresistible efficacy of
his powerful grace. God's counsel shall stand and he will do all
his pleasure.
5. Then people may know that they are elected. Hence is that
exhortation, 2 Pet. i. 10. ' Give diligence to make your calling and
election sure.' Though we cannot break in at the first hand upon
the secrets of God, yet if we do believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
receive him as our only Saviour, and submit to him as our Lord and
Sovereign, we may know that we are elected, seeing the elect and
they only are brought to believe. Others may be elected, but they
cannot know it till they actually believe.
6. The Lord will never cast off his elect people. He that chose
them from eternity, while he saw no good in them, will not after-
wards cast them oft\ God's decree of election is the best security
they can have for life and salvation, and a foundation that standeth
absolutely sure. Whatever faults and follies they may be guilty
of, yet the Lord will never cast them off. They shall be kept by
the power of God through faith unto salvation.
7. Lastly, This doctrine may teach us to form our judgment
aright concerning the success of the gospel. The gospel and the
ministrations thereof are designed for the bringing in of God's
chosen ones. All never did nor ever will believe : but one thing is
sure, that all who are ordained to eternal life shall believe and obey
the gospel, Rom. xi, 7.
314 OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE*
Psal. Ixxxix. 3. — / have made a covenant with my chosen.
1 Cor. XV. 45. — The last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
God made man upright, and entered into a covenant with hira, for-
bidding him to eat of a certain tree in the garden of Eden, on pain
of death, natural, spiritual, and eternal, and promising him, in case
of continued obedience, life in its utmost extent. But, alas ! man
being in honour did not continue a night, but foully revolted from
the obedience and allegiance he owed to his mighty Creator and
bountiful Sovereign. Thus his misery was originally owing to the
breaking of the covenant of works ; and in that dismal state he and
all his descendants had remained for ever, if God, in the wonderful
depths of his amazing love and grace, had not from all eternity de-
vised a method of recovery, by entering into a covenant with his
own Son as second Adam, head and representative of those desti-
nated by sovereign pleasure to be heirs of salvation. Thus fallen
man's recovery, from the first to the last step thereof, is entirely
owing to the fulfilling of that covenant entered into betwixt the
Father and the Son from eternal ages, and in it the whole mystery
of our salvation lies. And this covenant I shall endeavour, through
divine assistance, briefly to open up unto you, from the texts now
read.
* The transcriber autl preparer of the copy of this work for the press thinks it
necessary to inform the reader, that Mr. Boston, at three different periods of ministry,
preached on the covenant of grace, from as many different texts. 1. From Cant. iii.
9. 10. ' King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon,' &c. 2.
From Isa. xlii. 6, 7. 'I will give thee for a covenant of the people,' &c. 3. From
the two texts fronting this discourse. The first of these cannot now be found, after
the strictest search among his papers. The two last are preserved ; and of both com-
pared together the following discourse is an abridgement. To have inserted either of
them entire, would have swelled this work to a size far exceeding the limits proposed.
Neither was it at all necessary, as the public has long been in possession of that
valuable piece of our author's entitled, A View of the Covenant of Grace from the
Sacred Records, &c. which he prepared for the press in his lifetime, though it was not
published till 1734, two years after his death. In this abridgement there are several
references made to that book, where the particulars discoursed of are amplified and
more largely illustrated; and to prevent the immoderate extention of this work, of two
places, viz. in the promissory part of the covenant and the characters Christ sustains
as Administrator thereof, no abridgement is made, but the reader referred to the
printed treatise. It is supposed, that the reader, in perusing this part of the work,
will consult the treatise itself, at the several places referred to. It is proper also to
take notice, that several particulars in this discourse, particularly in the introduction
and in the application are not to be found in the said treatise, and are here given ver-
batim from the MSS. without any alteration.
OF THE COVENANT OP GRACE. 315
In the verse preceding the first text, there is mention made of a
building of mercy, which presupposes miserable ruins, and denotes
that this building is intended for the benefit of Jln elect world
ruined by Adam's fall. Free grace and lore set on foot this build-
ing for them, every stone in which, from the lowest to the highest,
is mercy to them : from top to bottom, from the foundation-stone to
the top-stone, all is free and rich mercy to them. And the ground
of this glorious building is God's covenant with his chosen, / have
mcide a covenant with my chosen. In whicli and the second text four
things are to be considered.
1. The foundation on which the building of mercy stands : a cove-
nant, a divine covenant, a sure covenant. The first building for
man's happiness, was a building of goodness, bounty, and liberality;
but not of mercy, for man was not in misery when it was reared up :
it was founded on a covenant too, the covenant of works made with
the first Adam. This building soon fell in ruins ; for being made
with man, liable to change, his foot slipt, the covenant was broken,
and the building tumbled down in an instant ; there was no more
safe dwelling there for Adam or his race, though most of them are
still seeking shelter about the ruins of this first building, and will
not come to the building of mercy. But this covenant is another,
and of a different nature ; the covenant of eternal life and salvation
for poor sinners, the spiritual seed of the head of the covenant, to
be given them in the way of free grace and mercy, and in which
they are freed from the curse of the law and the wrath of God.
The revelation and offer of this covenant unto the sons of men is
called the gospel, announcing the glad tidings of life and salvation
to ruined sinners.
2. The parties contractors in this covenant, / and my chosen, the
last Adam. Both heaven and earth were concerned in this cove-
nant ; for it was a covenant of peace between them, at variance
through sin. And accordingly the interests of both are consulted
by the parties contractors.
(1.) On heaven's side i^ God himself, the party proposer, I have
made a covenant ivith my chosen. Though he was the party olfended,
yet the motion for a covenant comes from him. The Father of Mer-
cies beholding a lost world, his bowels of mercy yearn towards the
objects that his sovereign pleasure pitches upon ; and that mercy
seeks a vent for itself, that it may be shown to the miserable. But
justice stands in the way of its egress, unless a method be found to
satisfy its claim, in order to pave a passage for the free efflux of
mercy. Then saith the Father ' The first covenant will not answer
the purpose ; another expedient must be fallen upon. The lost
x2
3l6
OP THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
creatures cannot contract for themselves ; and if another undertake
not for them, they must perish ; they cannot chuse an undertaker
for themselves; I will chuse one for them, and I will make the
covenant with my chosen.'
2. On man's side is God's chosen, or chosen One, for the word of
God is singular; the son the last Adam. Who else as fit to be un-
dertaker on man's side ; who else could have been the Father's
choice for this vast undertaking ? No angel nor man was capable
for it but the mighty One, ver. 19. whom the Father points out to us
as his chosen, Isa. xlii. 1.
3. The making of this covenant between the parties, I have made
a covenant with my chosen One. The Father and the Son made this
covenant betwixt them ; the bargain was completed by mutual
agreement. The terms were on both hands fixed, and the compact
closed between them, before the objects of mercy existed ; even as
the covenant of works betwixt God and the first Adam was made,
before we breathed in God's air. And therefore, by the by, ye
would take notice, that in reference to covenanting with God, ye
pretend not to make a covenant of your own, setting down such and
such terms for life and salvation, which you will do. All that re-
mains for us in that matter is to take hold of God's covenant, Isa.
Ivi. 6. to believe the promise, approve cordially of the covenant,
and consent to it for our part as agreed betwixt the Father and the
second Adam ; so shall ye evidence that ye are of those in whose
name Christ stood consenting to the covenant. This is our making
of a covenant mentioned, Psal. 1. 5. — ' that have made a covenant
with me by or upon a sacrifice,' viz. by laying their hands, by faith,
on the head of the sacrifice, thereupon cut down in their stead ; and
so transferring the guilt ceremonially on the sacrifice ; but really
and spiritually approving of the device of salvation by a crucified
Saviour, and falling in with it as the method of salvation for them.
The original calls it ' cutting of a covenant,' or ' striking a cove-
nant ;' being a covenant by sacrifice, confirmed with blood ; wherein
the party contractor on man's side is bot^ the priest and the sacri-
fice, the Father's wrath the fire that burnt it, and divine justice the
sword that cut it down, Zech. xiii. 7- This is most lively re-
presented. Gen. XV. 9, &c.
Before I go farther in the explication, I will speak a little to this
observation, ' That the foundation of all saving mercy to lost sin-
ners is the covenant of grace, the covenant betwixt the Father and
the second Adam.' To clear this consider,
1. It is the foundation of the first saving mercy that a poor sin-
ner meets with ; and that is the first grace given to the dead soul,
OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 31?
viz. spiritual life, the new heart, the first resurrection, by which the
soul is enabled to believe and embrace Jesus Christ, Ezek. xxxvi.
26. ' A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put with-
in you.' This is saving mercy. Tit. iii. 5. ' According to his mercy
he saved us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the
Holy Ghost.' Upon what bottom can this stone in the building be
laid, but on the covenant betwixt the Father and Christ ? No doing
of the sinner can be pretended here, for life and salvation, since the
sinner is really dead spiritually, and can do nothing ; but it is a
performing of the promise of the covenant to Christ, Eph. ii. 6.
* Even when we were dead in sins, he hath quickened us together
with Christ.'
2. It is the foundation of the middle saving mercies. Look to
the soul's actual believing ; it is the budding of a promise, a branch
of that covenant, Psal. xxii. 29, 31. 'None can keep alive his own
soul. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness,' Com-
pare John vi. 37. ' All that the Father giveth me shall come to me.'
Justification is the fruit that grows upon it, Isa. liii. 11. 'By his
knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many.' So is Sancti-
fication ; they are sanctified in Christ Jesus, in virtue of that cove-
nant, as they were corrupted and defiled in Adam by virtue of the
breach of the first covenant, 1 Cor. i. 2. compare Ezek. xxxvi. 25.
' I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean : from
all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you.' This
is an absolute promise with respect to the sinner. All their obedi-
ence itself, and persevering in holy obedience, are fruits of the cove-
nant, ver. 27. ' I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to
walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them,'
Jer. xxxii. 40. ' I will put my fear in their hearts, and they shall
not depart from me ;' and so belong to the promise of it, and are no
part of the proper condition of it, which must go before partaking
of the fruits of it.
3. It is the foundation of the crowning mercy, eternal life in hea-
ven, Tit. i. 2. To whom could this be promised before the world
began, but to the Son of God in the eternal compact ? So that the
sinner comes to be partaker of it in him, as he is of death in Adam,
John xvii. 2. ' Thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he
should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.' Hence
notwithstanding all the good works of the saints, wrought all
their life long, they receive eternal life as freely, and as much a
gift, as if they had nothing, Rom. vi. 21. 'The gift of God is eter-
nal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.' Hence they who have done
most for God, are as deep in the debt of free grace for their crown,
x3
318 OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
as the thief on the cross, who believed in Christ and then expired;
For all is made over to the several persons of the seed, upon one
bottom of the covenant, the proper condition of which was fulfilled
by Jesus Christ.
To confirm it, consider,
1. The justice of God could not admit of mercy to lost sinners,
but upon the ground of this covenant ; whereby the repairing of the
honour of the law by obedience and suff'ering was sufficiently pro-
vided for, Psal. xl. 6, 7- The first covenant being broken, the
breakers must ' die without mercy,' Heb. x. 28. unless salvation to
them be brought about by another covenant, that shall repair the
breach ; which could be no other but that made with the chosen
One.
2. All saving relation betwixt Christ and us is founded on that
covenant. Christ obeyed and died ; but what benefit have the fallen
angels thereby ? They were left hopeless for all that, and must en-
counter with unatoned justice. Why ? Not that Christ's doing
and dying was not able to save them ; the blood of infinite value
can have no bounds set to its suflniciency : but because their names
were not in that covenant, it had no relation to them, but to lost
sinners of Adam's race, Heb. ii. 16.
3. The very design of making that covenant was, that it might be
the channel of saving mercy, in which the whole rich flood of it
might run, for the quickening, purifying, blessing, fructifying, and
perfecting of an elect world, lying under the bands of death and the
curse by the breach of the first covenant, Psal. Ixxxix. 2. ' Mercy
shall be built up for ever ;' compared with the text, I have made a
covenant with my chosen. It was the Father's design ; and it was
the Son's design, Cant. iii. 10. Men are apt to devise unto them-
selves other channels of mercy ; but this being the only channel de-
signed by infinite wisdom, here the sinful creature will find saving
mercy flowing freely, but all other channels he will find quite dry.
4. Lastly, It has been the ground of all the saints' expectations
and hopes of mercy, in all ages. It Avas first published in the pro-
mise made to Adam, Gen. iii. 15. ' The seed of the woman shall
bruise the head of the serpent ;' and that was the stay of the souls
of the faithful till Abraham's time : then it was more clearly dis-
covered in the promise given to him. Gen. xxii. 18. ' In thy seed
shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.' The ceremonial law,
and the prophecies of Christ, pointed out very fully. And thus be-
lievers under the Old Testament built their faith of mercy on it.
And since that time it has been most clearly and fully discovered in
the gospel ; and so the New Testament church have raised their
faith of mercy on it.
OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 319
Use I. Behold here the freeness of saving mercy. There is a
fountain of mercy opened to sinful creatures ; and it was not only
provided for them without any merit of theirs, but without so much
as. any application made by them for it, Rom. xi. 34. A covenant
of grace is made betwixt the Father and his own Son as party-con-
tractor on man's side, who doth this for their salvation while they
knew nothing about the matter. Here is rich and free grace.
2. It is a vain thing to remain about the ruins of the old build-
ing, which stood on the covenant of works, and to expect mercy,
life, or salvation there. Gal. ii. 10. * Man is not justified by the
works of the law. It is evident, that man must have mercy now,
else he is ruined for ever, without any possible outgate from his mi-
sery. If the building of mercy could have been without a new
foundation, why Avas it laid, and laid so deep ? But a new founda-
tion was not laid in vain, but because it was necessary that it should
be. Therefore expect no mercy in the way of the first covenant.
Mount Sinai shews only thunders and lightnings, the voice of the
trumpet waxing louder and louder, and the voice of woi'ds, which
sinners are not able to bear. There is no voice of mercy and grace
but from mount Zion.
3. What a wretched disposition in man's nature is it, to be so
much addicted to the way of the covenant of works ? Grod saw that
there was no hope for fallen man that way ; therefore he made a
new covenant to build mercy u])on. But fallen man will not see it,
but still aims to make a shift for himself that way. Our father
Adam was well housed indeed in the first building, if he had ma-
naged well ; but it was by his sin laid in ruins. Yet his sinful
children still abide about these ruins, building cottages to them-
selves of the ruins, seeking righteousness as it were by the work of
the law, Rom. ix. 32. and pretending to repair it for themselves.
The Jews were never more addicted to the temple, than mankind
naturally is to that building on the first covenant. The Jews, after
their temple had been laid in ruins, never to be rebuilt, did notwith-
standing, in the days of Julian the apostate, attempt to rebuild it ;
and ceased not, till by an earthquake which shook the old founda-
tion, and turned all down to the ground, and by fire from heaven
which burned all their tools, they were forced to forbear. Thus it
fares with men with respect to the building on the old covenant ;
they will never give it over, nor cry for a Mediator in earnest, till
mount Sinai, where they work, be all on fire about them. 0 the
mischief of this practice ! They thereby aflTont the wisdom of God,
which found out this new way ; they despise the grace, free love,
and mercy of it ; they trample upon the great salvation brought
320 OF THK COVENANT OF GBACK.
about by it, Heb. ii. 3. And withal they fight against their own in-
terest ; will not enter by the door that is opened for them, but hang
about the door that is closed, and shall never be opened to them,
and so perish. Thus they • forsake their own mercy,' Jonah ii. 8.
4. Lastly, Quit the old covenant, then, and take hold of the new,
that you may be personally entered into it. This you may do by
taking hold of Christ, in the way of believing ; for he is given for a
covenant of the people, Isa. xlii. 6. So the proposal of the covenant
is made to you, Isa. Iv. 3. And thus shall ye be lodged in the
building of saving mercy ; and mercy shall be built up to you for
ever. But if you do not take hold of this covenant, ye are off the
foundation of mercy, and can look for none of it. But to proceed
in the explication of our tests :
4. The nature of the covenant made betwixt these glorious par-
ties. Concerning which we may gather from the texts,
(1.) The design of it, viz. life, the most valuable interest of man-
kind. The last Adam was made a quickening spint, viz. to give life,
life in perfection, to dead sinners, dead legally, and dead morally.
(2.) The persons for whom this life was designed, the elect, / have
made a covenant with my chosen. Christ is the head elect, or head of
the company chosen to life. In one and the same decree, the Fa-
ther chose Christ to be the head, and them to be the members.
Hence we are said to be ' chosen in him,' Eph. i. 4.
(3.) The representation. As in the first covenant Adam, the
party contractor on man's side, was a representative, representing
and sustaining the persons of all his natural seed ; so in this cove-
nant, the Lord Jesus Christ, the party contractor and undertaker on
man's side, is a representative, representing and sustaining the per-
sons of all his spiritual seed. This appears from his being designed
the second Adam, who was a type of him, Rom. v. 14. As the first
Adam, representing all his seed in the covenant of works, brought
sin and death on them ; so Christ, representing all his seed in the
covenant of grace, brought righteousness and life to them.
(4.) The condition of the covenant laid on the elect's representa-
tive, to be performed by him in their name and stead. He was to
be the last Adam, to take upon him man's nature, to clothe himself
with our flesh, and therein to go through with what the first Adam
had stuck in ; that is, to fulfil the covenant, by yielding perfect
obedience to it, and sufiTering the penalty thereof in their room.
(5.) The promise of the covenant, to be performed on that condi-
tion by the God of truth. This is implied in these words, / have
made a covenant with my chosen: i. e. ' I have engaged for such and
such benefits, and have bound myself by solemn promise to my cho-
OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE, 321
sen, on condition of what I have required of him.' This promise
contains whatever is necessary for the complete happiness of the
mystical body, grace and glory.
5. Lastli/, There is one thing more specially to be considered, ac-
cording to these texts, belonging to the nature of this covenant, viz.
that the party contractor on man's side is the administrator of the
covenant : The last Adam ivas made a quickening Sjnnt. As Christ
•was God he could not fail in the performance of his engagement ;
and therefore God took his single bond for sufficient security ; and
thereupon he was made administrator of the covenant, Matth. xxviii.
18. He entered on this office at the beginning, and intimated the
covenant to fallen Adam in paradise, Gen. iii. 15. and will continue
in that office till the last elect soul be brought in. The treasure put
into his hand is the promises of the covenant, which are the reward
of his own obedience and death. Col. i. 9. Hence he bequeaths all
the promised benefits by testament, and lives to bo the executor
of it. There is a fulness of the Spirit lodged in him, to be commu-
nicated to the elect dead in sins ; and he is made a life-giving head
unto them, John i. 4. Eternal life was lodged in him, 1 John v.
11. ; and it is communicated by him, John xvii. 2. as the great trus-
tee and steward of heaven. In the faith of this, Adam called his
wife Life, or an Enlivener, Gen. iii. 20. No wonder he should be
called the covenant itself, Isa. xlii. 6. since he is the head of the co-
venant, unto whom the elect are joined unto God in covenant, the
condition of the covenant was performed by him, and the Father has
put the promises of the covenant in his hand. This is good news
to men, that the promised life is in the hands of the Mediator, who
is of our flesh and bone.
The doctrine arising from the two texts, thus compared and ex-
plained, is,
DocT. ' The covenant of grace for life and salvation to ruined sin-
ners, was made with Christ the second Adam, and he constituted
Administrator thereof.'
In handling this important subject, I shall consider,
I. The parties in the covenant of grace.
II. The parts of it.
III. The administration of it.
TV. Make some practical improvement.
I. I am to consider the parties in the covenant of grace. And
these are the party contractor on heaven's side, the party contractor
on man's side, and the party contracted or undertaken for.
FIRST, Upon the one side is God himself, and God only, as in
the covenant of works. As the covenant was made from eternity,
322 OF THE COVENANT OP GIIACE.
there was no other, and no occasion for any other, to see to the in-
terests of heaven in this transaction. I think that Grod essentially
considered was the party contractor in the person of the Father,
Tit. i. 2. Eph. i. 3. Hereby the Son and the Holy Ghost have their
part in the covenant on heaven's side, as the party offended ; and in
the mean time a peculiar agency in this great work is attributed to
the Father on that side, as there is unto the Son on man's side.
And that we may have some distinct view of God in this character
in the covenant of grace, we must consider the following things.
1. God from eternity decreed the creation of man after his own
image, and the making of the covenant with him. This whole dis-
pensation was before the Eternal Mind, in all the parts and apurte-
nances thereof, though, by reason of making that covenant with a
creature, it could not actually take place but in time. Acts xv. 18.
2. He also from eternity decreed to permit man to fall, and so to
break that covenant, and thereby to involve himself and all his pos-
terity in ruin. This fall he permitted for his own holy ends, pur-
posing to bring about good from it.
3. God is to be considered in this covenant as an offended God,
offended with all the sins of all mankind, original and actual. In
the first covenant God contracted with man as with a friend, with-
out the interposition of a mediator : but in the second covenant it
was not nor could be so ; for man is considered in it as a fallen
creature, a transgressor of the law, an enemy to God ; and it is a
covenant of reconciliation and peace, for those who had been at war
with heaven.
4. Yet he is to be considei-ed as a God purposing and decreeing
from eternity to manifest the glory of his mercy, free love and
grace, in the salvation of some of the lost race of Adam, Eph. iii. 10,
11. Without such a purpose of grace in God, there had never been
a covenant of grace.
5. Notwithstanding we are to consider him in this matter as a
just God, who cannot but do right, give sin a just recompense, and
magnify his holy law and make it honourable. Upon the motion,
then, of extending mercy to any of mankind, the justice of God in-
terposeth, and pleads that mercy cannot be shewn, but upon terms
agreeable to law and justice. And it was not agreeable either to
the nature of God, or to his truth in his word, to shew mercy in pre-
judice of his exact justice, if a throne of grace is to be erected, it
must not be set on the ruins of the justice of God. And therefore
justice required,
(1.) That the law which was violated be fully satisfied, and the
honour thereof repaired, by suffering and obedience, the former
OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 323
such as may satisfy the sanction of the law and the latter the com-
manding part thereof. And this the sinners must either do for
themselves or another in their room, who can be accepted as suffi-
cient surety.
(2.) That since it was man that sinned, it must be man also who
must suffer and obey, that one nature may not sin, and another be
put to suffering for it.
Thus lay the impediments in the way of mercy to fallen man, and
who could have removed them but God himself? Man could not
here have acted for himself; his ability to obey was lost; and
ability to suffer what was due to him for sin, so as to exhaust it,
and deliver himself, he never had. Angels were not able to bear
the burden ; their finite natures could not have born so as to bear
off infinite wrath. Therefore,
6. Lastly, The Father pitches upon his own Son for this work, as
one able to make way for mercy over all difficulties, and remove the
impediments lying in the way of its egress, Psal. Ixxxix. 19. He
was able for the work as being the Father's Fellow, Zech. xiii. 7- ;
his equal, Phil. ii. 6. and so one of infinite power and dignity. And
here four things are to be considered.
(1.) The Father designed that his own Son, the eternal Word,
should, for this purpose of mercy, take on man's nature, and become
man, Heb. x. 5. He saw that sacrifice and offering would not an-
swer the case, that the debt was greater than to be paid so easily,
and the work greater than to be managed by a person of less dig-
nity. Wherefore, that the darling attribute of mercy might not
for ever remain vailed, he wills that the human nature be united to
the divine in the person of his Son.
(2.) He chrlseth him to be the head of the election, being one thus
in the decree of Grod raised up from among the people, Psal. Ixxxix.
19. ; and to be the last Adam, the federal head and representative
of such as sovereign pleasure should pitch upon to be vessels of
mercy, and enrol in the book of life, that they might have a head
who was both God and man, Eph. i. 22.
(2.) He designed a certain number as it were by name to be the
constituent members of that body chosen to life, whereof he was the
designed head, and gave them to him for that end, Phil. iv. 3. John
xvii. 9. They were a chosen company, whom sovereign grace se-
lected from among the rest, on a purpose of love, and gave to Christ,
the last Adam, for a seed, John xvii. 6. : therefore they are said to
be chosen in him, Eph. i. 4.
(4.) The Father proposed to him, as the last Adam, the condi-
tions and terras of the new covenant, treating with the elect in him
324 OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
as with all mankind in the first covenant. Now, he has found one
who is able to answer for the lost company, and treats with him in
their name, for life and salvation to them, in a suitableness to the
honour of law and justice.
Inf. 1. The redemption of the soul is precious. The salvation of
sinners was a work greater than the making of the world. The
powerful Word commanded, and the last was done : but much more
was to be done ere a sinner could be saved from wrath.
2. Think not that Christ is more willing to save you than the Fa-
ther is. The will of Christ, his Father, and Spirit, are one. And
one person of the glorious Trinity cannot be less willing to help
poor sinners than another is. Which should incite and encourage
you to come to God by Christ.
3. Behold the matchless love of the Father to lost sinners of
Adam's race, 1 John iii. 1. The whole contrivance sprung from his
free grace, shewing itself in greatest measure and exceeding riches
of grace, Eph. ii. 7- Man lay in the utmost misery before him : a
most miserable creature, needing help, but making no application
to him for it, Rom. xi. 34. ; a sinful creature, having nothing in
him to provoke to liking, but loathing ; a criminal, upon whom jus-
tice demanded vengeance ; one whose debt no creature was able to
undertake for ; therefore he gave his own Son, a gift in grace with-
out a parallel.
SECONDLY, Upon the other side is Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, with the elect, his spiritual seed, Heb. ii. 13.; the former as
the party-contractor and undertaker, the latter as the party con-
tracted and undertaken for ; which is a good reason for his name
Immanucl, Matth. i. 23. The party-contractor then in this covenant
with God is our Lord- Jesus Christ. He managed the interests of
men in this eternal bargain, and there were none of that party with
him to help him, nor capable to do it. And he acted in a twofold
capacity towards the making of this covenant, as the eternal Word,
and the second Adam.
First, As the eternal Word, having no nearer relation to man
than as his Creator, and sovereign Lord, John i. 1, 2, 3. Our Lord
Jesus Christ is now our near kinsman, the elder brother of the
family of mankind, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh ; but
from the beginning it was not so. He was from eternity the only
begotten Son of God, and by voluntary dispensation only, for the
relief of fallen man he became man, and so was allied to the house
of Adam. Here let us consider what our Lord Jesus did as the
eternal Word in this covenant, viz. his consenting to it, and the
effect of that' consent.
OP THE COVENANT OF GHACE. 325
1. Let us consider what our Lord did as the eternal Word in
making of this covenant. He consented to the proposals made by
his Father, in order to the erecting of a new covenant with lost sin-
ners of Adam's race. God saw there was a necessity of a new bar-
gain for the salvation of any of them ; that the old covenant would
not answer his purpose of mercy ; and that this covenant could not
be made unless his own Son became the head of it. Hereto the Son
of God, for the glory of his Father, and the salvation of sinners,
readily agreed ; and gave his consent.
1st, That he should become man, by taking into a personal union
with himself a holy human nature, according to the eternal destina-
tion of his Father, Heb. x. 5, 6, 7. He consents to be incarnate,
that all flesh might not perish ; which was accordingly fulfilled in
time, John i. 14. The two families of heaven and earth were at
war, and no peace could take place betwixt them but through a
Mediator. And where could a fit Mediator be found, a day's-man
meet to interpose betwixt such parties, who would not either be too
high or too low, in respect of one of the parties at variance ? Man
or angel would have been too low in respect of God ; and an un-
vailed God would have been too high in respect of sinful man.
"Wherefore the Son of God, that he might be a fit Mediator betwixt
the parties, as he was by his eternal generation high enough, in re-
spect of God, so he consents to become low enough in respect of
man, by a temporal generation of a woman.
2dli/, That he should be a second Adam, a head and representa-
tive of the chosen company, sustaining their persons, and acting in
their name, Psal. xl. 6, 7- ' Mine ears hast thou opened,' or ' bored,'
as Exod. xxi. 6 ; thereby intimating his consent to be the Father's
servant for ever, in the work of man's salvation. It was evident
the breach betwixt God and man was greater than to be taken
away by a me^e intermessenger, which should go betwixt the
parties, and so reconcile them with bare words. There could not
be a covenant of peace betwixt God and sinners, without a repara-
tion of damages done to the honour of God, and without honouring
his holy law by an exact obedience as his subjects : and both of
these were quite beyond their reach. The Son of God, beholding
the strait sinners were brought to, while they could neither do for
themselves, nor any in all the creation could afford them help, saith,
' Lo, I come ;' I am content to take their place, and put myself in
their room, as a second Adam.
Thus was the foundation of the covenant laid, by the Father's
proposal, and the consent of his Son thereto, as the eternal "Word.
2. Let us consider the effect of this consent of the eternal Word.
326 OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
He was thereby constituted Mediator betwixt God and man, as God-
raan in one person, 1 Tim. ii. 5, Having had the Father's call
thereto, and that call being accepted by his own consent, he was
thereby established the great Mediator betwixt God and man, for
making and keeping the designed peace between heaven and earth ;
through whom, and in whom, as a public person, God might enter
into a new covenant with sinners of Adam's race. Thus also was
he constituted the second Adam, and representative of all the elect,
with whom the Father might treat as one answering for them.
And was constituted Mediator or Midsman betwixt God and sinners
in two respects.
1st, He was constituted Mediator in respect of his natures. He
was a substantial Mediator, as partaking of the nature of both
parties. He was God equal with the Father from all eternity, and
so stood related to heaven : he was designed to be man from eter-
nity, and so stood related to earth. In this divine constitution four
things are to be considered.
(1.) That he should be a real man, having a true body, and a
reasonable soul, and not be so in appearance only, Heb. ii. 14. that
so he might be capable to suffer, since without shedding of blood
was no remission ; and the divine nature could not suffer.
(3.) That that body of his should not be made of nothing, nor of
any thing but what belongs to Adam's family, Psal. Ixxxix. 19.
Gal. iv. 4. ; that so he might indeed be one of the family of Adam,
Luke iii. ult. ; a brother of those in whose name he was to act, Heb.
ii. 11. and so the same nature that sinned might suffer.
(4.) That that human nature should be united to his divine na-
ture in the way of a personal union, John i. 4 ; the divine nature in
the person of the Son marrying the human nature to itself, that the
Son of God should become as really the Son of man, and of Adam's
family, as he was the Son of God, and of the family of heaven.
And this to the end that what he might do or suffer in the name of
his brethren, might be of infinite value and efficacy, as the deed of a
divine person. Acts xx. 28. 1 John i. 7-
(4.) That that human nature to be thus united to the divine in
the person of the Son, should be a holy thing ; since sinful flesh was
not capable of an immediate union with God ; and that therefore,
by the operation of the Holy Ghost, that substance of the body that
was to be prepared for the Mediator, should be separated from all
corruption and infection from the first Adam; and the soul and
body should both be of a perfectly holy nature, Luke i. 35. This
was necessary to qualify him to be Mediator, the last Adam ; for
had he himself been defiled with the least taint of sin, he could not
have expiated the sins of others, Heb. vii. 26, 27.
OF THE COVENANT OP GRACE. 32?
'Idly, As by his consent to become man, he was constituted sub-
stantial Mediator ; so by his consent to become last (or second)
Adam, he was constituted official Mediator betwixt God and man,
or Mediator in respect of office, 1 Tim. ii. 5, 6. He had his Father's
call to the office, Heb. v. 4. ; and having consented to and embraced
the call, he was invested in the office, and treated with as such from
all eternity, Prov. viii. 22, 23.
Now was there one provided to take the desperate cause of lost
sinners in hand : a glorious and a mighty One, with whom the new
covenant of grace might be made, with safety to the Father's honour
and the case of perishing sinners : A fit hand, as partaking of both
natures, and invested with that office, which he and only he was fit
for. And this brings me to the second capacity wherein he acted
in this matter. Then he acted.
Secondly, As the second Adam, head and representative of the
election, by the Father's destination and his own consent. "What
he did as the Eternal Word, made way for the covenant, and was,
as it were, the preliminaries of the covenant : but it was in this ca-
pacity that the covenant was formally made with him, as appears
from our texts already explained.
Now Christ standing in that capacity, as second Adam, head of
the election, did two things, whereby he entered actually into the
covenant with his Father.
1. He accepted the gift of the particular persons elected by
name, from all eternity, by his Father, made to him. Heb. ii. 13. ;
and in token thereof owns them in particular as his brethren, ver,
11. Like as the first Adam, in the making of the first covenant,
stood alone without actual issue ; yet had destinated for him a nu-
merous issue, even all mankind, who should with him be compre-
hended in the same covenant; which Adam, virtually at least,
accepted : so God having chosen a certain number of lost mankind,
he, as their original proprietor, gives them to Christ, the appointed
head, to be his members, and comprehended with him in the second
covenant, though as yet none of them had a being ; and he accepts
the gift of them, is well pleased to take these in particular for
his body mystical, for which he should engage in covenant to his
Father, John xvii. 6. 10.
2. Christ did in the name and stead of these particular persons
elected unto life, and given unto him, consent unto the conditions
and terms of the covenant, proposed by the Father for life and sal-
vation to them. And thus the covenant was concluded, Psal. xl. 6,
7. 8. Isa. liii. 10. As the first Adam, representing all his natural
seed, did in their name and stead consent to the terms and condi-
328 OP THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
tions of the first covenant, and so entered into that covenant for
them ; so the second Adam representing all his spiritual seed, did
as a public person, in their name, consent to the terms of the second
covenant. And as he had in the eternal decree taken on him their
nature, so he did from all eternity put on their person, answer to
their names as being in law one person with them, even as the
cautioner is with the principal debtor, and the husband with the
wife in case of debt, who are one in the eye of the law ; and, having
heard all the demands of law and justice upon them, he struck hands
with the Father, to satisfy all these demands to the utmost.
For clearing of this purpose I shall shew,
1. That the second covenant was made with Christ, as the last
Adam, head and representative of the elect.
2. Why it was made so with him.
First, I am to shew, that the second covenant was made with
Christ, as the last Adam, head and representative of the elect.
Consider,
1. Covenants typical of the covenant of grace were made with
persons representing their seed. The covenant of royalty, a type of
this covenant, was made with David, as representative of his seed ;
therefore the covenant of grace typified by it was made with Christ,
as the representative of his seed. Hence in our first text the party
covenanted with and sworn to is called David, which is one of the
names of Christ typified by David, Hos. iii. ult. for which cause the
mercies of the covenant are called ' the sure mercies of David,' Isa.
Iv. 3. And this David is God's servant having a seed compre-
hended with him in the covenant, Psal. Ixxxix. 4. To the same
purpose it may be observed, that Phinehas' covenant of priesthood
was a type of the covenant of grace ; and in it Phinehas stood as
representative of his seed, typifying Jesus Christ representing his
spiritual seed in the covenant of grace. Numb. xxv. 12, 13. This is
evident from Psal. ex. 4. where the everlasting priesthood pro-
mised to Phinehas has had its full accomplishment in Jesus Christ.
Hereto may be added, that the covenant made with Noah and his
sons was made with them as the heads of the new world, and repre-
sentatives of their seed. Gen. ix. 9, 11. And that this covenant was
a type of the covenant of grace, and Noah therein a type of Christ,
is clear from its being established on a sacrifice. Gen viii. 20, 21. ;
from the nature of that covenant, viz. that there should not be
another deluge, chap. ix. 11. ; typical of the wrath of God against
the elect, Isa. liv. 9, 10. confirmed by the rainbow about the throne,
Rev. iv. 3. Wherefore, since in the covenant of royalty, by which
the covenant of grace is typified in our text, and in other covenants
OF THE COVETIAXT OF CmACE. 329
typical tlioreof, the parties with whom they were made stood as
lieads, public persons and representatives of their seed, it is evident,
that the covenant of grace typified by these was made with Christ
as the head and representative of his spiritnal seed : for whatever is
attributed to any person or thing as a type, hath its accomplishment
really and chiefly in the person or thing typified.
2. This appears also from his being the last Adam, as he is called
in the second text ; the reason of which must be taken, not from the
nature common to the first and last Adam, for all mankind partake
of that ; but from their common office of federal headship and re-
presentation, in the respective covenants touching man's eternal
happiness, which is peculiar unto Adam and the man Clirist. Ac-
cordingly Adam is called ' the first man,' and Clirist ' the second
man,' 1 Cor. xv. 47- But Christ is no otherwise the second man,
than he is the second federal head or representative in the second
covenant, as Adam was the first federal head and representative in
the first. Wherefore, as the first covenant was made with Adam,
as the head and representative of all mankind, the second covenant
was made with Christ, as the head and representative of all the
elect.
3. Tlie promises of the covenant were made to Christ, as the
second Adam, head and representative of the elect. Gal. iii. 16.
* Unto Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith, —
And to thy seed, which is Christ.' I own that here is meant Christ
mystical, the head and members : To them the promises are made,
but primarily to the head, secondarily to the members in him ; even
as the promise of life was made in the first covenant to Adam, and
to all his natural seed in him. And so the promise plainly stands,
Isa. liii. 10, 11. ' When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin,
he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of
the Lord shall prosper in his hand. lie shall see of the travail
of his soul, and shall be satisfied : by his knowledge shall my
righteous servant justify many : for he shall bear their iniquities.'
Thus the covenant is said to be made with the house of Israel, the
spiritual Israel, yet is directed, not to them, but to another person,
Ileb. viii. 10. ; the reason of which plainly appears in the promises
being made to Christ, as their head and representative. Now, if
the promises being made to Christ, as the head and representative
of the elect, the covenant was made with him as such ; for it is the
covenant to which the promises belong, Eph, ii. 12. ; and he to
whom they were primarily made, was no doubt the party contractor.
4. This federal headship of Christ, and his representing of the
elect in the covenant of grace, is evident from his suretyship in that
Y
330 OK TlIK COVENANT 01' IJKAOK.
covenant, whereby he became Surety for them, Ilcb. vii. 22. Now,
he was Surety for them in the way of satisfaction for their debt,
and the punishment due to them ; and that as for persons utterly
unable to answer for themselves, so that he took the whole upon
himself. Now, such a surety is a true representative of the parties
he is Surety for, one person with them in the eye of the law.
Hence not only is Christ said to have been ' made sin for us,' 2 Cor.
V. 21. to have had ' our sins laid upon him,' Isa. liii. 6. to have
' died in our room and stead,' 1 Tim. ii. 6. Rom. v. 6 ; but also we
are said to have been * crucified with him,' Gal. ii. 20. ; to be ' made
the righteousness of God in him,' 2 Cor. v. 21.; yea, to 'be raised
up' and glorified 'in him,' Eph. ii. 6.; and to be 'made alive in
him,' as we ' died in Adam,' 1 Cor. xv. 22. All which necessarily
requires this headship and representation of his in the covenant.
5. Christ bears the name of the elect, being called by their name,
even as they are by his ; a plain evidence of their being one in the
eye of the law, and God treating with Christ as their representative
in the covenant. The elect are called Israel, viz. the spiritual
Israel, Rom. ix. 6 ; and so is our Lord Jesus Christ, Isa. xlix. 3.
Heb. ' Thou art my servant : Israel, in whom I will glorify myself.'
This is plainly meant of Christ, ver. 6 ; and the sense is. Thou art
Israel representative, in whom I will glorify myself, as I was dis-
honoured by Israel, the collective body of the elect. And this may
give light into that passage, Psal. xxiv. 6. compare ver. 7- &c.
Thus the first man was called Adam, or man, as being the head and
representative of all mankind, the person in whom God treated with
the whole kind. Accordingly the elect are comprehended under the
name of Christ, Gal. iii. 16. Col. i. 24; as all men are under the
name of Adam, Psal, xxxi. 5. 11. ' Verily every man {Heb. all
Adam) is vanity.'
Secotidly, I come to shew why the second covenant was made with
Christ as a representative, the last Adam.
1. That infinite love might have an early vent, even from eter-
nity. God's eternal love to his elect vented itself in the covenant
of grace, which is an everlasting or eternal covenant, Heb. xiii. 20.
Hence we find that covenant and that love of the same eternal date,
Isa. Iv. 3. ' I will make with you an everlasting covenant, Heb. a
covenant of eternity.' Jer. xxxi, 3. ' I have loved thee with an
everlasting love, Heb. a love of eternity.' But since the elect are
but of yesterday, the covenant of grace behoved to be like the cove-
nant of works, but a yesterday's covenant, a time-covenant, if it was
not made with Christ as their representative ; it could not have
been an eternal covenant otherwise; the promise of eternal life,
OF THE COVENANT OV OKACE. 331
which is undoubtedly a promise of that covenant, could not other-
wise have been of so ancient a date, as the apostle says it was.
Tit. i. 2. * before the world began.' — And how could an eternal co-
venant be made with time-creatures originally, but in their eternal
head and representative ? Or how could an eternal covenant be
made personally with them, by way of personal application to them,
had it not been from eternity made with another as their head and
representative ?
2. 'Because otherwise it could not have been made a conditional
covenant at all, to ansAver the design of it. This covenant took
place on the breach of the first covenant ; and it is a covenant of
life, Mai. ii. 5. life to dead sinners ; the last Adam being made a
quickening spirit. It was the great design of it, that dead sinners
might have life. Tit. i. 2. Now, in order to this, a holy just God
stood upon conditions, without the performing of which that life was
not to be given ; and they were high conditions, Psal. xl. 6. 1 Thess.
V. 10. Now, how could an effectual conditional covenant for life be
made with dead sinners, otherwise than in a representative ? Can
dead souls perform any condition for life pleasing to God ? They
must have life before they can do any thing, if it were ever so small
a condition. Therefore a conditional covenant for life could not be
made with sinners in their own persons ; especially considering that
the conditions were so high for life to the sinner, that man at his
best state was not able for them, far less in his sinful state. There-
fore, if such a covenant was made at all, it behoved to be made with
Christ as the sinner's representative, Rom. viii. 3, 4.
3. That it might be a covenant of grace indeed, and not a cove-
nant of works, to sinners themselves. It is evident, that the design
of this covenant was to exalt free grace, and that it is framed so as
to be a covenant of pure grace, and not of works to us, whatever it
was to Christ, Rom. iv. 16. Eph. ii. 9. And thus indeed it is a
covenant of pure grace, the Lord Jesus Christ himself, as repre-
sentative, being the sole undertaker for, and performer of all the
conditions of the covenant in the sinner's name ; whereby all ground
of boasting is taken from the creature. But this is marred upon
the supposition of the covenant being made with the sinner in and
by himself, standing as principal party contracting with God, un-
dertaking and performing the condition of the covenant for life :
for how low soever these conditions undertaken and wrought by the
sinner himself be, the promise of the covenant is made to them, and
so, according to the scripture, it is a covenant of works, Rom. iv. 4,
5. And there is no difference between Adam's covenant and such a
covenant, but in degree, which alters not the kind of covenant.
y2
332 UP THE covj-:nant of orace.
4. That the communication of righteousness and life to sinners
might be iu as compendious .a way as the communication of death
and sin was, Rom. v. 19. God liaving made the covenant of works
with Adam as the represeritativc of his seed, sin and death was
communicated to tliem all from him as a deadly head, having bro-
ken the covenant. This being so, it was not agreeable to the me-
thod of divine procedure, to treat with every one to be saved, by
themselves as principal parties in the new covenant for life ; but
with one public person for them all, who should be, by his fulftlling
the covenant, a quickening head to them, from whom life might be
derived unto them, in as compendious a way as death from the first
Adam. This was most agreeable to the way of him whose mercy is
above all his other works.
6. That it might be a sure covenant, as entered into with a sure
hand, Rom. iv. 16. The first covenant was made with a mere crea-
ture as principal party and contractor ; and though he was a holy
and righteous creature, yet he was so unstable in performing the
condition laid on him, that the promise was lost. "Wherefore the
fallen creature was not fit to be the principal party, or party con-
tractor in the new covenant, wherein the promises were to be sure
to poor sinners, and not to misgive. Therefore the Lord seeing
them all a broken company, not to be trusted in this matter, he pro-
poses to his own Son to be head of the new covenant, and there-
in to act for and in name of those given him for a seed ; which
being accepted, the business is made sure. God looked only to him
for the performance of the condition, and the promises were made to
him, and so are sure to all the seed. Gal. iii. 16. Compare Psal.
Ixxxix. 28. ' My mercy will I keep for him, and my covenant shall
stand fast with him.'
Inf. 1. What a spring of unspeakable comfort is it to believers,
to look back into eternity, before the Avorld was made, and to be-
hold the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, standing as the last
Adam, contracting with God in the second covenant ! This may
move them to cry, ' 0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom
and knowledge of God ! how unsearchable arc his judgments, and
his ways past finding out !' Rom. xi. 33. and to shout, Grace, grace
to the glorious contrivance, so full of grace. Here they may see,
1. The covenant on which their salvation depends made with a
near relation of theirs, even as was the first covenant by the break-
ing of which they were ruined. In the one stood the first Adam for
them, in the other the second Adam. Why should they look as
strangers towards the covenant of grace ? The party contracting
in it with God is their near kinsman, their elder brother, flesh of
OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 333
their flesh, and bone of their bone, Eph. v. 30. ; nay, their Father,
who is nearer to and has a more natural concern in them than a
brother ; even the second Adam, who is their second Father ; in
respect of which I think he is called ' the everlasting Father,' Isa.
ix. 6. compare Ileb. ii. 13.
2. Their nature highly dignified ; the human nature, however cor-
rupt it is in the multitude that partake of it, yet pure and spotless
in the second Adam, tit to enter into a new covenant with an of-
fended God. Man's nature, as it was defiled by Adam, became so
abominable, that it could never again appear before God immedi-
ately to covenant with him ; but in Christ it is so perfectly pure,
that it was callable of an immediate union Avith the Godhead in his
person, and so of covenanting with him immediately.
3. The covenant so stable and firm, that it cannot be broken, the
Son of God himself, being the second Adam, contractor in this cove-
uaut. The first Adam being a mere creature, not confirmed, his co-
venant was liable to breaking, he was capable of failing, and did
fail, in the performance of the condition : and so are all the cove-
nants made with God upon conditions to be performed by sinful
men : but in regard of the party-contractor, viz. the Lord Jesus, the
covenant of grace is an everlasting covenant, it cannot be broken,
Isa. Iv. 3. Psal. Ixxxix. 30,-33, 34.
4. The covenant well-ordered in all things, as for the honour of
God, so for their good in time and eternity. The second Adam,
manager for them, was the Son of God, in whom all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge are hid ; he managed for his own family, his
own children: so there was neither afl'ection nor wisdom wanting in
him. We may be sure then there is nothing in the covenant that
their good would have required to have been kept out ; and nothing
out that their case requii-ed to be in. What remains then, but that
by believing they approve of the covenant, and take the comfort
of it?
Inf. 2. The covenant of redemption and the covenant of grace are
not two distinct covenants, but one and the same covenant. I know
some great and good men have taught otherwise, alleging the cove-
nant of redemption to have been made with Christ, and the cove-
nant of grace to be made with believers ; though they were far from
dcsiguing or approving the ill use some have made of that principle.
However, the doctrine of this church, in the Larger Catechism, is in
express words, ' The covenant of grace was made with Christ as the
second Adam, and in him with all the elect as his seed.' From
whence it necessarily follows, that the covenant made with Christ
and witli believers, or the covenant of grace and redemption, are
Y 3
334 OF TUE COVKNANT OF GKACE.
one and the same covenant. Only, in respect of Christ, it is called
the covenant of redemption, forasmuch as in it he engaged to pay the
price of our redemption ; but in respect of us, the covenant of grace,
forasmuch as the whole of it is of free grace to us, God himself
having provided the ransom, and thereupon made over life and sal-
vation to poor sinners, his chosen by free promise, without respect
to any work of theirs to entitle them thereto *.
Inf. 3, As all mankind sinned in Adam, so believers obeyed and
suffered in Christ the second Adam. For as the covenant of works
being made with Adam as a public person and representative, when
he broke the covenant, all sinned in him ; so the covenant of grace
being made with Christ as a public person and representative, all
believers obeyed and suffered in him, when he fulfilled the cove-
nant, Rom. viii. 3, 4. Gal. ii. 20.
Inf. 4. Believers are justified immediately by the righteousness of
Christ, without any righteousness of their own intervening, as all
men are condemned from their birth upon the sin of Adam, before
they have done good or evil in their own persons. So that they are
righteous before God with the self-same righteousness, which was
wrought by Christ in the fulfilling of "this covenant; which righte-
ousness is imputed to them, not in its effects only, so as their faith,
repentance, and sincere obedience, are accepted as their evangelical
righteousness, on which they are justified ; but in itself. For, by
the works of the law shall no flesh be justified ; and faith, repent-
ance, and new obedience, considered as conditions performed, are
works and cannot found a title to justification.
Inf. 5. The covenant of grace is absolute, and not conditional to
us. For being made with Christ as representative of his seed, all
the conditions of it were laid on him, and he has fulfilled the same.
So what remains of the covenant to be accomplished is only the ful-
filling of the promises to him and his spiritual seed ; even as it
would have been with the first Adam's seed, if once he had fulfilled
the condition of the covenant.
Inf. 6. The way to attain to the enjoyment of all the benefits of
the covenant of grace, is to unite with Christ the head of the cove-
nant by faith. Being thus ingrafted into him, ye shall partake of
that happiness secured to mystical Christ in the everlasting cove-
nant; 'even as by your becoming sons of Adam by your natural
generation, ye fall under that sin and death which passeth on all
by the breaking of the first covenant, Rom. v. 12.
* The illustration of this point may be seen in the Author's View of the Covenant
of Grace, under the title, Of the party-contractor on man a side inf. 1 . a work po»-
toiior to this discourse.
OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 335
Inf. 7. The offer of Christ made to you in the gospel, is the offer
of the covenant of grace to you, and of all the benefits thereof;
and the embracing of Christ is the embracing of the covenant, and
the personal entering into it. The covenant of grace held forth in
the gospel, is the cord of love let down from heaven to perishing
sinners shipwrecked in Adam, to save them from sinking into the
bottom of the gulf, and to hale them to land. It is their duty to
lay hold of the covenant by faith, Isa. Ivi. 4, 6. And that is done
by taking hold of Christ in the free promise, believing that he is
held forth to you in particular, confiding and trusting in him for
your salvation from sin and wrath, upon the ground of God's faith-
fulness in the promise, ' Whosoever believeth in him shall not
perish but have everlasting life,' John iii. 16. For he is given for
a covenant to you, Isa. xlix. 8. and xlii. 6. So receiving him you
receive the covenant, he being the head of the covenant, who per-
formed the condition, and to whom the promises were made.
Inf. 8. The covenant of grace is a contrivance of infinite wisdom
and love, worthy to be embraced by poor sinners with all joy, 2
Sam. xxiii. 5. 0 admirable contrivance of help for a desperate
case ! wonderful contrivance of a covenant with them who were in-
capable of coming into the presence of a holy just God, or to per-
form the least condition for life and salvation ! A new bargain for
life and salvation to lost sinners, on the highest terms, made with
those who were incapable to come up to the lowest terms ! Wis-
dom found out the way, viz. by a representative : the love of the
Father engaged him to make the proposal ; and the love of the Son
induced him to accept it. Thus a sure covenant is made, and a firm
foundation laid, on which the sinner may safely lay his whole
weight, foT upon it lies the weight of God's honour, Isa. xxviii. 16.
Inf. last, How sinful and dangerous must the course of those be
who practically corrupt the covenant of grace, pretending to make a
covenant with God, as parties contractors and undertakers, for life
and salvation, instead of taking hold of God's covenant ; the car-
nal Jews did so corrupt it, looking for life and salvation, not for
the sake of the promised seed alone, but for their obedience to the
ceremonial and moral law : and thus do many to this day practi-
cally corrupt it. They think the covenant of grace is a promise of
life and salvation upon condition of faith, repentance, and sincere
obedience to the law : whereupon they consent to these terms, and
solemnly undertake to perform them, and then, upon their (fancied)
performance of them, they challenge life and salvation, as having
done their part. This quite overturns the nature of the covenant of
grace, Rom. iv. 4. and xi. 6. The sinfulness of it is great, as over-
336 OF THE COVENANT OP GRACE.
looking Christ, tlie great iiudertakcr and party contractor by the
appointnicut of tlic Father ; and putting themselves in his room, to
act, and do, and work for themselves for life. And the danger of it
must be great, as laying a foundation to bear the weight of their
souls, which divine wisdom saw to be quite unable to bear it, Gal.
V. 4. So the issue of such covenanting must be, that the cove-
nanters shall lie down in sorroAV. The true way of covenanting is,
to take up the covenant of grace as a free promise of life and salva-
tion, upon condition of Christ's obedience and death performed al-
ready ; to believe that promise with particular application to the
sinner himself, i. e. that the sinner believe, that he shall have life
and salvation, pardon of sin, repentance, sanctification, grace, and
glory, and that upon the ground of Christ's obedience and satisfac-
tion only, lleb. viii. 10. Thus the covenant is held out, as a free
and absolute promise, to sinners indefinitely, like a rope to a com-
pany of drowning men, that whoever believes it may by it be drawn
forth out of the waters. We proceed to consider,
TIIIKDLY, The party contracted and undertaken for in this co-
venant. And as the party-contractor was a representative, so the
party-contracted for was represented by him. And that these two,
the represented and the contracted for, are of equal latitude, is
plain from the nature of the thing : for those whom one represents
in a covenant, he contracts for in that covenant; and those for
whom one contracts in a covenant, made with him as a representa-
tive, they are represented by him in that covenant. It is evident
also from the relation betwixt the two Adams, the former being a
type of the latter. In the first covenant, those whom Adam con-
tracted for, he represented ; and those whom ho represented, he con-
tracted for : therefore those whom the second Adam contracted for
he represented ; and whom he represented, he contracted for.
Now, the party represented and contracted for in the covenant of
grace by our Lord Jesus Christ, was the elect of mankind ; a cer-
tain number of the posterity of Adam chosen from eternity to ever-
lasting life, Ileb. ii. 11, 12, 13. In their person it was that he
stood in making this bargain with his Father, in their name it was
that he acted when he struck hands with the Father, as a surety to
obey the law, and satisfy justice. And that these only could be so
represented by him in this covenant, as being the objects of elec-
tion, is evident from the last discourse, on the doctrine of election.
It will be proper, there Jbre, to shew how the elect were con-
sidered in this covenant and federal representation. They come
under a threelbld consideration, as sinners, as impotent sinners, and
as objects of the divine love.
OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 337
1. As sinners ruined in Ailani, lost sheep of the house of Israel,
Matth. XV. 24. In the first covenant God put all the flock of man-
kind under the hand of one shepherd, Adam. But he lost all the
Hock, and was never able to recover them again. God from all
eternity had put a secret mark on some of them, whereby he distin-
guished them from the rest, 2 Tim. ii. 19. He saw them among the
rest, gone from their pasture, wandering like poor waifs and strays,
a prey to every devourer. And he proposeth a new covenant,
whereby they might be put under the hand of Christ as their shep-
herd, to be by him sought out and brought back. And this our
Lord Jesus accepted, though he well knew what it would cost him
to save tlie lost sheep.
2. As impotent, and utterly unable to help themselves, in whole
or in part, Rom. v. 6. They were debtors, and utterly unable to
l>ay one farthing of their debt ; and criminals, and quite unable to
bear their own i>unishment to the satisfaction of justice. Had it
lain on them to have paid the debt or borne the punishment, they
behoved for ever to have sunk under the load. Then said the Son
of God, ' I cannot see them perish ; Father, I put myself in their
room, I will answer for them ; I will pay their debt, and bear their
punishment ; I will be the debtor and criminal in law reckoning, as
representing the criminals and debtors.' The representation is sus-
tained, the payment of all is laid on him, and is looked for from no
other hand, in whole or in part, either by the one or other party
contracting, Isa. Ixiii. 3. Psal. Ixix. 4. Yet,
3. As objects of eternal love, sovereign and free, given to Christ
by his Father. The Father loved them, John xvii. 23. and there-
fore gave them to Christ, ver. 6. The Son loved them, Eph. v. 2.
and accepts of the gift, and represents them in the covenant, as a
Father does his children, Isa. ix. 6. with Heb. ii. 13. This abso-
lutely free love, and mere good pleasure, was the reason why they,
and not others in the same condemnation by the breach of the lirst
covenant, were represented by Christ in the second covenant ; why
their names were put in the eternal contract, when the names of
others were left out, Luke x. 21. They were his Father's choice
and his choice ; and so he became their representative*.
II. The second general head is to consider the parts of this cove-
nant. These arc the things agreed upon betwixt God and Christ,
as the second Adam, and representative of the elect in the covenant.
* Some |)r(.|)ei iiifcreuccs relative to tlii^ part ut iho lubJL-ct may bf seen ou the
treatise tiu the covenant of grace, under tlio title. Of the party coiitiuctcd and under-
tiikcn for.
338 OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
They may be taken up in two things, the condition of the covenant,
and the promises thereof. I shall consider each distinctly.
FIRST, The condition of the covenant. The condition of a cove-
nant or bargain is that part of it, upon the performance of which
one's right to the benefit promised is founded, his plea for it is
established, as becoming due to him for his performance, accord-
ing to the agreement betwixt the parties. For instance, the paying
of such a sum of money, for such a commodity, according to the
agreement of the parties bargaining, is the condition of a covenant
of commerce, sale, or traffic ; and the working of such a piece of
work, or doing of such a deed, for such a reward, agreed upon by
the parties, is the condition of a covenant of service or hire.
There is also what is called a condition of connection or order in
a covenant, whereby one thing necessarily goes before another in
the order of a covenant, without being the ground on which one's
right and title to that other thing is founded. As in the former
instances, the buyer's receiving of the commodity, and the hireling's
receiving of the reward, covenanted or bargained for, must needs go
before the possession or enjoyment of them : but it is evident, that
receiving is not the thing on which the buyer's right and title to the
reward is founded : therefore, though it may be called a condition
of connection in the respectiA'e covenants, yet it connot in any pro-
priety of speech be called the condition of these covenauts.
Thus in the order of the covenant of grace, the having of the
Spirit must go before faith, faith before justification, justification
before sanctification, and holiness before heaven's happiness. These
may be called conditions in the covenant of grace, viz. conditions of
certain connection ; and belong to the established order of the pro-
mises of the covenant, which are contradistinguished to the condi-
tion of the covenant. But such conditions can in no proper sense
be called the condition or conditions of. the covenant.
This being premised, we say, that the condition of the covenant
of grace, properly so called, is Christ's fulfilling all righteousness,
owing unto God by the elect, in virtue of the covenant of works,
and that as the last Adam, their head and representative. And
here I shall,
1, Evince this to be the condition of the covenant.
2. Explain and unfold that righteousness, the fulfilling whereof
was made the condition of the covenant.
First, I am to evince that this is the condition of the covenant of
grace. This will appear, if ye consider,
1. Christ's fulfilling all righteousness in the second Adam, is
what the Father proposed unto Christ as the terms of the elect's
OF THE COVENANT OF ORACE. 339
salvation, and upon which he founded his promise of eternal life to
them;. and not any work or deed of theirs, Isa. liii. 10, 11. And
says Christ, This cup is the neiv testament in my blood ; as if he had
said, All the promises of the covenant were written with my blood,
it was the condition which procured them, and without which ye
Lad never obtained them. And accordingly this is what Christ,
as the second Adam, did from eternity consent to, undertake, and
bind himself for, and in time did perform, Matth. iii. 15. 'It becom-
eth us to fulfil all righteousness,' as it becomes a person of honour
and credit to fulfil his bargain. Luke xxiv. 26. ' Ought not Christ
to have sutfered these things ?' viz. as one ought to perform the con-
dition of a covenant or bargain he has agreed to.
Object. But the elect's believing, holiness, and good works, were
also fixed as terms of their salvation : and Christ undertook also
that they should believe, &c.
Ans. Then at that rate Christ performed the chief part of the
condition of the covenant, and took it wholly on himself; but they
perform another part of the condition, for which he became their
cautioner. Thus the condition of the covenant of grace is divided
betwixt Christ and the impotent beggarly creature : and so must
the glory of their salvation be ; for whosoever works part of the
work, or pays a part of the price, without question so much of the
reward and purchase is due to him. But none of the glory of it is
due to us, 1 Cor. i. 31. Zech. vi. 13. Rom. iv. 4, 5.; and therefore
no part of the condition is performed by us. I own these things are
secured in the covenant; but they are secured not in the condi-
tionary part of the covenant, but in the promissory part of it, Heb.
viii. 10.
2. This, and nothing done by the sinner himself, is that upon
which a sinner's right to eternal life is founded : upon nothing else
can he safely found his plea before the Lord for life and salvation.
And a sinner thoroughly convinced will find it so, Rom. iii. 24, 25.
Eph. i. 7. Phil. iii. 9. The sinner standing trembling in the court of
conscience, by faith gets under the covert of the Mediator's righte-
ousness, and dare oppose nothing to the sentence of the law, but
Christ's fulfilling all righteousness, giving up all other pleas for life
and salvation. And believing is the pleading itself upon that
ground, not the ground of the plea. It saith, ' My Lord and my
God,' in the promise, upon the ground of Christ's fulfilling all
righteousness only, as the condition of the covenant.
3. This is that alone by which the salvation of sinners becomes
due or a debt. Now, it is not a debt to them; therefore they fulfil
no part of the condition : but unto Christ ; therefore he performed
340 OP TUE COVENANT OF GRACE.
the proper condition of the covenant ; for he who fulfils the condi-
tion of a covenant, the reward is of debt to him, Koni. iv. 4, 5. com-
pare 1 John ii. 1. 2 Thcss. i. 6, 7. We may see this even in the
first Adam's covenant, the condition whereof was perfect active obe-
dience. Which if it had been fulfilled by Adam, eternal life to him
and his would thereupon have become due or a debt to him. And
hence it is, that Christ's fulfilling all righteousness is the believer's
only plea for life and salvation : even as in case Adam had per-
formed the condition of his covenant, the plea of all his posterity
for life would have been founded on that performance solely, as
being the only obedience that was the condition of that covenant ;
their personal obedience, at least after the performance of the for-
mer, being the accomplishment of the promise of the covenant, not
of the condition. And so they would have had life, not for any
personal deed or work of theirs, but freely, for the obedience of the
first Adam, to which he did graciously make the promise of life in
the first covenant.
4. Lastly, The covenant of grace doth so exclude our boasting as
the covenant of works did not, Rom. iii. 27. But if any deed or
work of our own be the condition of the covenant of grace in whole
or in part, our boasting is not excluded ; for life and salvation is of
or by the fulfilling of the condition of the covenant, Rom. iv. 4. and
so far as life and salvation is of or by any work of ours, there is
room for our boasting, Eph. ii. 9. even as in the covenant of works,
wherein life was by our works, not in the way of proper merit, but
only by virtue of paction or covenant *.
Secondly, I shall explain and unfold that righteousness, the ful-
filling of which was the condition of the covenant of works. And
that we may have the more distinct view of it, I shall shew,
1. The parts of that righteousness.
2, The character which, upon his Father's call, the Lord Jesus
took upon himself, in the covenant, in order to his accepting and
performing the condition of the covenant for his people.
First, I am to shew the parts of that righteousness, the fulfilling
whereof was made the condition of the covenant. And forasmuch
as Christ undertook the performing of that condition in the room
and stead of his spiritual seed, the debt of righteousness was and
must be stated from the law or broken covenant of works, which
they were lying under. For the law or covenant of works was so
far from being neglected in the new bargain, that whatever it had
' Proper infeiences from this point may be seen in the treatise on the covenant of
srace, under the title, Of the conditional;/ part of the covenant.
OF THE COVEX.VXT OF GRACE. 341
to charge upon or demand of the elect for life and salvc\tion, was
summed up and set down in the new covenant, and the full and
complete payment thereof made the condition of that covenant, Isa.
xlii. 21. Psal. Ixix. 4. This may from thence be summed up in
these three things, holiness of nature, righteousness of life, and sa-
tisfaction for sin, which make the whole of the condition of the co-
venant of grace, the price of the redemption of an elect world, which
Christ the second Adam undertook from eternity, to accomplish in
himself, in their name, room, and stead.
1. Holiness of nature. That the law required as a term of enjoy-
ing eternal life, condemning original sin and corruption of nature as
well as of life, saying, ' Thou shalt not covet.' For God being es-
sentially and necessarily holy, nothing can be so contrary to him as
an unholy nature. But Christ's spiritual seed were as unable to
reach this holiness of nature, as any of their brethren of Adam's
family ; their nature was corrupt, and it was quite beyond their
power to purify it, Prov. xx. 9. "Wherefore, that the law might be
satisfied in this point, it was settled as a condition of the covenant,
That the second Adam representing them should be a man of a per-
fectly holy, pure, and untainted nature, fully answering for them
that holiness and jierfection of nature required by the law. It con-
sists of two articles.
(1.) That he as the second Adam should be conceived and born
holy, for and instead of his spiritual seed, conceived and born in sin.
(2.) That he should inviolably retain the holiness of nature for
them, and in their name *.
2. Righteousness of life. This also the law required as one of
the terms of life. The law given to Adam and all his seed, which
they were obliged to obey in all points, by the tie of natural duty,
and by covenant for life, was never fulfilled by them ; and Christ's
spiritual seed as well as others fell short of it, Rom. iii. 23. The
first Adam began the course of obedience, but he quickly fell oft'
from it, and all his natural seed in him. But the justice of God,
and the honour of his law, could not suft'er the reward, the prize, the
crown of eternal life, to be bestowed without running the race.
The elect having no ability for running that race, it was made a
condition of the second covenant, that Christ as a public person,
their representative, should begin and perfect the course of obe-
dience to the law in righteousness of life. This may be taken up in
these three articles.
See the illustratioa of these two articles, ubi supra, under the title, Holiness of
Nature.
342 OP THE COVENANT OP GRACE.
(1.) That he, as the second Adam, should, in the name of those
represented by him, obey the whole law.
(2.) That every part of that obedience of his should be screwed
up to the highest pitch and degree.
(3.) That all this should be continued to the end, without the
least failure in one jot of parts or degrees of obedience *.
3. Satisfaction for sin, Isa. liii. 10. The former two were in the
condition of Adam's covenant ; but this was not : for their being no
sin, no satisfaction was due. But the new covenant, supposing the
first to be broken, behoved to be settled on the condition of a satis-
faction, in virtue of the justice of God, and of his truth, who had
annexed a penalty to the breach of the covenant of works. And in
this part of the condition of the covenant the following articles
were settled.
(1.) That Christ, as a public person should satisfy for all compre-
hended in the covenant, all and every one of his spiritual seed, Isa.
liii. 6.
(2.) That he should satisfy for them, by suffering for them, and in
their name and stead, Heb. ix. 22.
(3.) That he should by suffering satisfy for them fully and com-
pletely, that the law might have no need to come back on them for
any part of the satisfaction due.
(4.) That he should suffer the same punishment that they should
have suffered in virtue of the penalty of the broken covenant of
works, from which this debt of satisfaction was stated ; and that
was death in its full latitude and extent.
(5.) That he should suffer all this voluntarily, submissively, and
out of regard to the wronged honour of God, willingly repairing it f ,
Secondly, I shall shew the character which, upon his Father's call,
our Lord took upon himself, in the covenant, in order to his accept-
ing and performing the condition of the covenant for his people.
Jesus Christ, the second Adam, hath a manifold relation to the co-
venant, as he is called the covenant itself : but here I meddle only
with those relations to it which concerned the condition ; and shall
take them up in this threefold character, their kinsman Redeemer
in the covenant, the Surety of the covenant, and the Priest thereof,
(1.) Christ became the kinsman Redeemer in the covenant, Job
xix. 25. And there were four things which the kinsman Redeemer
was to do for his kinsman, which he was not able to do for himself ;
all which Christ took upon him in the conditionary part of the
covenant.
* See uhi supra, under the title, Riffhteotisness of Life.
'\ See ubi supra, title, Satisfaction for Sin.
OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 343
(1.) He was to marry the widow of the deceased kinsman, to raise
np seed to his brother, Ruth iii. 9. compared with Ezek. xvi, 8. S(^
our kinsman Redeemer undertook in this covenant to marry the wi-
dow, to take on man's nature in the fulness of time, marrying it to
himself in a personal union with the divine nature.
(2.) He was to redeem the mortgaged inheritance of his poor
kinsman, Lev. xxv. 25. Heaven and eternal life is the mortgaged
inheritance. Our kinsman Redeemer took the burden of the re-
demption on himself, and agreed to pay the price of the purchase.
(3.) He was to redeem his poor kinsman, brought into bondage,
paying his ransom. Lev. xxv. 47. Sinners had lost their freedom,
and become slaves to sin and Satan. Our kinsman Redeemer agreed
to give himself for them, for purchasing their liberty, 1 Tim. ii.
5, 6.
(4.) He was to avenge the blood of the slain kinsman on the
slayer, Deut. xix. 12. All mankind was slain, and the elect of God
among the rest. Our kinsman Redeemer undertook the avenging of
their blood on Sin and Satan *.
2. Christ became the Surety of the Covenant. This the scripture
expressly teacheth, Heb. vii. 22. What suretyship is among men,
many have known to their cost, to the ruin of themselves and their
families. It is a man's taking on himself the person of another in
law, and binding and obliging himself to answer for what can be
legally demanded of that other person. Against rash undertaking
of this Solomon cautioneth, Prov. xi. Id. It is twofold ; suretyship
by way of satisfaction for debt contracted, (Prov. xxi. 26), by the •
party whom one is surety for ; and suretyship by way of caution for
some deed to be performed by the party for whom one is surety,
Prov. XX. 16. ' Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; and
take a pledge of him for a strange woman ;' that is, lest they will
not perform, and the cautioner will be left in the lurch. Here I
shall enquire, for whom and for what Christ became Surety in the
covenant.
1.9^, For whom Christ became Surety in the covenant. Possibly
it may be safely said, that Christ became God's Surety to us in the
covenant, taking on himself to see all the promises of the covenant
performed to the seed, even to all believers. For in the case of one
unknown to us, though in himself most faithful, a surety may be
necessary, especially if the party be of a jealous and suspicious
temper. It is certain that God's promises are, in respect of his in-
fallible veracity, most sure and firm, and cannot miss to be per-
* Fide ubi supra, tit. Christ the kinsman Redeemer in the covenant.
344 OF THE COVENANT OF OH ACE.
formed : but sinners are slow to believe, Luke xxiv. 25. And if
#Clirist be Surety for God unto ns, it is for the same end that God
lias given his oath in the case, llcb. vi. 17, IB.
But T doubt if the scripture calls Jesus Christ a Surety in that
sense. In Heb. vii. 22. the only text wherein Christ is expressly
called a Surety, it is undeniable that the suretyship respects his
priestly office, ver. 20. with 22. and therefore his suretyship for us
to God : whereas his suretyship for God to us cannot relate to his
priestly office, but to his kingly office, in respect of which all power
is given to him in heaven and earth, and consequently a power to
see that all the promises be performed to his people. In two other
texts only, we read of suretyship relating to the case between God
and a soul ; and in both the suretyship is not to, but for the soul,
viz. Psal. cxix. 122. ' Be surety for thy servant for good,' Job xvii.
3. ' Put me in a surety with thee.' The original expression is the
same in the latter text as in the former. Whatever is of this, one
thing is plain, that it doth not belong to the condition of the cove-
nant, but to the promises of it ; and therefore lies not here before
us.
But Christ became our Surety to God in the covenant. Thus was
he most properly, if not the only, Surety of the covenant. The co-
venant of grace was made with the spiritual seed in Christ, as their
head and representative, and their Surety taking burden for them
upon himself, Psal. Ixxxix. 19.
2dhj, For what he became surety. This will appear by consider-
' ing the nature of his suretyship. I spoke before of two kinds of
suretyship. It was the first, the heaviest of the two, that our Lord
undertook, viz. suretyship in the way of satisfaction for debt con-
tracted, wherein the burden was wholly devolved on himself, and he
was to be the sole actor and sufferer. The debt of the elect world
was, by God's eternal foreknowledge, stated from the broken cove-
nant of works, in the whole latitude of its demands on them : and
Christ became surety for it, and so did strike hands with his Father
from eternity, to pay it completely. And,
(1.) He became surety for their debt of punishment, which they
as sinners were liable in payment of, as the original phrase is, 2
Thess. i. 9. That was the debt owing to the divine justice for all
and every one of their breaches of the holy law, whether original or
actual. The demerit of their sins was an infinite punishment, as
being committed against an infinite God. They were liable to bear
the pains of death in the full latitude of it ; to suffer the force of
revenging wrath, to the full satisfaction of infinite justice, and re-
paration of God's honour. This debt of theirs, Christ became
OF THE COVENANT OF ORACE. 34r5
Surety for, engaging his life for their life, which was lost in law,
where there was not the least hope of escape, Psal. xl. 6, 7. with
John X. 18. In this suretyship there was an exchange of persons in
law, which sovereign grace did admit, when it might have been in-
sisted that the souls that sinned should die. And in virtue thereof
Christ himself became debtor in law, bound to pay that debt which
he contracted not, Psal. Ixix. 4. And there was a double transla-
tion made on Christ in the covenant, from the elect, with his own
consent, as a foundation in law and justice for exacting the elect's
debt of him.
[1.] Tlieir guilt was transferred on him, Isa. liii. 6. All the sins
of all the elect were at once imputed to him, and so became his, as
his righteousness became ours, viz. in law-reckoning, 2 Cor. v. 21.
So that though he was absolutely without sin inherent, he was not
without sin imputed to him, till in his resurrection he got up the
discharge, Heb. ix. ult. having done them away, and cleared the
debt by his death.
[2.] The curse due to them for their sins was transferred on him,
Gal. iii. 13. The sentence of the law binding them over to bear the
revenging wrath of God for all their sins, till justice should be sa-
tisfied, was with his own consent laid upon him. And in virtue
hereof his blessed body was hanged on a tree, and the sentence of
the broken law, Gen. ii. 17. was executed on that body and holy
soul, Gal. iii. 13.
0 heavy, yet happy exchange ! heavy for Christ the Surety, but
happy for poor sinners. Here is what is got on either hand by the
exchange of the persons of Christ and his redeemed ones. All the
sins of the redeemed are charged on Christ, for the satisfaction of
justice by suftering for them : and all Christ's righteousness, for life
and salvation, is reckoned on their score, 2 Cor. v. 21. The curse
of the law comes on hira for their sake : and the blessing of the gos-
pel comes on them for his sake, Gal. iii. 13, 14.
(2.) He became Surety for their debt of duty and obedience,
Matth. iii. 15. The law as a covenant of works, though it was bro-
ken by sinners, who thereby had incurred the penalty, neither lost
its right, nor ceased to exact the obedience which at first it required
of man, as the condition of life. The sinner was still bound to per-
fect obedience, and on no less or lower terras could have eternal life,
Luke X. 28. The paying of the debt of punishment raiglit satisfy
as to the penalty of the bond : but there is yet more behind for hira
who will meddle in the affairs of the broken company. IIoav shall
the principal sum contained in the original contract be paid, the
debt of obedience to the law for life and salvation ? The honour of
34G OF THE COVENANT OF GEACE.
God could not allow the quitting of it : and they were absolutely
unable to pay one mite of it, that was current in lieaven, Kom. v. 6.
Eph. ii. 1. They were quite as incapable for the doing part, as the
suffering part. So Christ became Surety for this debt of theirs too,
the debt of obedience to the law as a covenant, which was and is the
only obedience for life and salvation to the sons of men. What-
ever the law can demand of them in this kind, holiness of nature or
righteousness of life, he strikes hands for the payment of it, Psal.
xl. 7, 8.
And here also there was an exchange of persons in law, as to
Christ and the elect, he sustaining their person in the eye of the
law, sisting himself for them to answer for every item of this debt,
as their Surety. And in virtue thereof he became the law's debtor
for that obedience which was owing to it by the elect : which debt
he owned to be lying upon him by his circumcision, Luke ii. 21.
compared with Gral. v. 3*.
(3.) Christ became the Priest of the covenant, Heb. vii. 20, 21,
22, 28. He undertook that office, and put on that character, at his
Father's call, Heb. v. 4, 5, 6. to the end that he might perform the
condition of the covenant. A priest is a public person, who deals
with an offended God, in the name of a guilty company, for recon-
ciliation, by sacrifice which he olfereth to God upon an altar, Heb.
V. 1. being thereto called of God, that he may be accepted. So a
priest speaks a relation to an altar, an altar to a sacrifice, and a
sacrifice to sin. Here I shall inquire, for whom Christ became a
Priest, and what need there was of his becoming a Priest in this co-
venant.
1st, For whom he became a Priest. He became a Priest for sin-
ners, Heb. viii. 1. Where there is no sin, there is no need of a
priesthood : So Christ's priesthood speaks men to be guilty crea-
tures, needing an atonement and reconciliation. And he became a
Priest for those sinners whose names were in the covenant, and
them only, that is, for the elect, whose names ai'e written in hea-
ven : for being the Priest of the covenant, he must be their Priest,
and theirs only, who were comprehended in the covenant. In a
word, he became the Priest of the spiritual Israel in the covenant,
that Israel for whose behoof the covenant was madef.
2dli/, What need was there of Christ's becoming a Priest in this
covenant. The necessity of it will appear in these four things.
(1.) They were sinners, and there could not be a new covenant
• Fide uhi supra, tit. Christ the Surety of the Covenant.
f See this clearly proved afterwards in the discourse on Christ's priestly office.
OF THE COVENANT OP GRACE. 347
made without provision for removing of their sin ; and that required
a priest, and one that was able to remove sin, and repair the in-
jured honour of God. And such a one was Christ.
(2.) Sin could not be removed, without a sacrifice of sufficient
value, which they were not able to afford. The new covenant was a
covenant by sacrifice, Psal. 1. 5. and it could not be obtained with-
out sacrifice ; it behoved necessarily to be written in blood, Heb. ix.
22. Christ becoming a priest, gave himself a sacrifice, for estab-
lishing the covenant, Eph. v. 2. and so it is the New Testament in
his blood, shed for the remission of the sins of many.
(3.) No sacrifice could be accepted, but on such an altar as should
sanctify the gift to the eifect of the removing of sin. And who
could furnish that but the Son of God himself, whose divine nature
was the altar, from whence the sacrifice of the human nature de-
rived its value and efficacy, as infinite, Heb. ix. 14.
(4.) There behoved to be a priest to ofter this sacrifice, this
valuable sacrifice unto God upon that altar : else there could have
been no sacrifice to be accepted, and so no removal of sin, and so no
new covenant. And who could that be but the Son of God only ?
Since himself was the sacrifice, and himself the altar, he himself
alone could be tlie Priest*.
Inf. From all that has been said on the head of the condition of
the covenant, ye see the price of sinners' salvation, the ransom of
souls, the only valuable plea that a sinner can have for mercy,
namely, the condition of the covenant performed by the Mediator.
Let it be the great concern of your life, to be interested in it in a
saving manner, as reckoned of God to have been performed for you.
If it be not reckoned on your account, what will it avail you for
life and salvation ? Be concerned then for the imputation of that
righteousness unto you. It is ofi'ered in the gospel unto you, that
the holiness of Christ's nature, the righteousness of his life, and the
satisfaction of his death, shall be yours, yours freely, as a free gift
of righteousness, believe it, and lay your souls' weight on it by
faith, and it shall be imputed to you.
SECONDLY, Wo proceed now to consider the second part of the
covenant of grace, viz. the promise. This covenant is a proper co-
venant : and in it there is a promissory part, answering to the con-
ditionary part which we have now explained. And it is God's part
of the covenant, as the other was the Mediator's part ; and is that
which our text, / have ))iade a covenant with my chosen, doth princi-
pally and expressly bear ; compare ver. 4. ' Thy seed Avill 1 estab-
• Vide ubi supra, tit. Christ the Priest of the Covenant.
z2
348 OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
lish for ever.' The promise of the covenant is the bond of promise,
whereby God has obliged himself to give the benefits specified in the
covenant, and to make them forthcoming, npon the consideration of
the performance of the condition. And forasmuch as the condition
performed by Christ was strictly meritorious of the benefits pro-
mised, the promise is firm and binding, not only in respect of the
truth and faithfulness of Gc^, Tit. i. 2. ; but also in respect of his
justice, 2 Tim. iv. 8. which requires the Mediator's obedience to be
rewarded according to the promise made in the covenant.
Of what weight and importance the promissory part of the cove-
nant is, will appear by these considerations.
1. The covenant of grace hath its name from this part of it, Eph.
ii. 12. It is called, ' covenants of promise.'
2. The covenant itself is by the Iloly Grhost described as a cluster
of free promises of grace and glory to poor sinners, without any
mention of any condition, Heb. viii. 10, 11, 12.
3. The promises of the covenant are the purchase of Christ's
blood, the fruit of his fulfilling all righteousness in his birth, life,
and death.
4. The great design and end of the covenant is accomplished in
the performance of the promissory j)art of the covenant : and that is
the glory of God, and the salvation of sinners. Rev. x. 7.
5. The happiness and comfort of all God's elect, for time and
eternity, depends on the promises of the covenant. Tit. i. 2.
6. The glory of the man Christ, as Mediator of the covenant de-
pends on the promise of the covenant.
7. God has sworn the promise of the covenant, Psal. Ixxxix. 3.
Heb. vi. 17.*
For clearing of this weighty point, we shall consider the promises
of the covenant in general, and then take a more particular view of
them. •
First, I am to shew what are the promises of the covenant of
grace in general. They are promises made by God himself in that
covenant, upon the consideration of Christ's fulfilling the condition
of the covenant, as the onerous cause thereof, whereby he has
secured all hapi)iness to the elect, after Adam and his children had
lost it by the breach of the first covenant, and hath also secured all
means leading thereunto. These promises, in respect of the parties
on whom they have their direct and immediate eftect, are of two
sorts.
1. Some of them have their direct and immediate effect on Christ
* See these seven particulars illustrated, ubi supra, tit. The promissory part of the
covenant.
OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 349
himself, the head of the covenant, who in his own person performed
the condition of it; such as the promises of assistance in his work,
of a numerous offspring to be given him, and a name above every
name, as the reward of his work, Ileb. xii. 2.
2. Some of them have their direct and immediate effect on
Christ's spiritual seed and members, comprehended with him in the
same covenant ; such as the promises of the new heart, regeneration,
cleansing from the defilement of sin, &c.
Secondly, To whom the promises arc made. We may take up
this point in these two things.
First, The promises of the first sort, viz. those that have their
direct and immediate effect on the person of Christ, were made to
Christ himself, Isa. xlix. 7- And they were made to him as head of
the covenant, the second Adam, the representative of his spiritual
seed.
Secondly/, The promises of the second sort, viz. those that have their
direct and immediate effect on Christ's spiritual seed, the elect, are
made to Christ primarily, and to the seed secondarily. They are
made to both, but first to the head, then to the members through
him.
1. They are primarily and chiefly made to Christ. Though they
have their immediate effect on the elect, they are made immediately
and chiefly to him. This appears by several documents from the
word of Grod.
IsU The express testimony of the apostle, Gal. iii. 16. ' Now to
Abraham and his seed were the promises made, — and to thy seed,
which is Christ.'
2dly, Christ is by the covenant constituted heir of all things,
Psal. Ixxxix. 27. Heb. i. 2. And that must needs be in virtue of
the promise of the covenant, which he purchased by his fulfilling
the covenant.
3<iZy, As God promised life in the covenant of works to Adam's
children upon condition of his perfect obedience, which is evident
from death coming on them by his disobedience ; so he hath pro-
mised life in the covenant of grace to Christ's spiritual seed, upon
condition of his obedience.
4thlt/, All the promises that have their direct and immediate
effect on the elect, are a part of the reward made over to Jesus
Christ in the covenant, Heb. xii. 2. compared with Isa. liii. 10.
They are all the price of blood to him, the purchase of his obedi-
ence and death, aud therefore called the new testament in his blood.
This is a point of great weight, and serves both to inform our
minds aud direct our practice. For hence may fairly be inferred,
A 3
350 OF TUB COVENANT OF GRACE.
(1.) Tliat the promises are not made to the believer's good works,
but to Christ's works, and to tlio working believer in and through
him, Rom. iv. 4. Tliey arc absolutely free to the believer, and not
of debt to him, and therefore are not made to his works.
(2.) That the free grace whereby the dead elect are quickened,
and made to believe, and unite with Christ, is conveyed to them in
the way and sure tenor of a promise, as well as the grace that fol-
lows faith, Ezek. xxxvi. 26.
(3.) The way to be personally and savingly interested in the i>ro-
mises of the covenant for time and eternity is to embrace Christ by
faith, and thereby unite with him, 2 Cor. i. 20.
(4.) When through deadness and darkness of Spirit, or some con-
science wasting guilt, the faith of the promise is failed in you, and
ye cannot fasten your hold upon it again, because ye see no good in
yourselves, embrace Christ again, and the promise in him, notwith-
standing all your first unworthiness and guilt, and stand not off
from the promises till you be in better case, Psal. Ixv. 3.
(5.) The true way to plead the promises is, to plead them througli
Jesus Christ, to plead the accomplishment of them to ourselves for
his sake, to come to God in the name of Christ, and to crave the
fulfilling of the promises, John xvi. 23, 24.
(6.) Lastlif, This may confirm and strengthen the faith of be-
lievers as to the accomplishment of the promises to them.
2. These i)romises ai'e made to the elect, Christ's seed, seconda-
rily, in and through Christ, 2. Tim. i. 9. As he has the chief and
fundamental interest in them, so they have a derived interest in
them through him, in respect of their legal and mystical union with
him *.
Let us therefore take heed to ourselves, lest standing off from the
free promise of life in Christ, we go about to seek our salvation an-
other way. Let us be denied to all confidence in our own works, as
we would not thrust ourselves into the room of Christ, and so he
become of no effect to us.
[The author next proceeds to take a particular view of the pro-
mises of the covenant of grace, which he treats of as peculiar to
Christ, and as common to his spiritual seed ; for all which we must
refer the reader to his View of the Covenant of Grace, under the
titles. Of the promises 2?eculiar to Christ, and. Of the j^romise of eternal
life to the elect, considered in three periods ; where they are handled
more largely than in this work.]
III. The next general head is, to consider the administration of
' Sec all tlio foregoing paiticulais amplified, uli supra, uuder the title hi>t referred to,
OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 351
the covenant of grace. Since this covenant is that which the salva-
tion of the whole spiritual seed depends on, and according to it all
the dispensations of God towards them, for carrying on and com-
pleting that love design, are regulated ; and since it was withal a
compact entered into betwixt the Father and the Son before the
world began, and so in itself a great secret, Psal. xxv. 14. ; it is
necessary that there be an administration of it, whereby it may be
rendered effectual, for the behoof of those in whose favour it was
entered into. Wherefore the administration of it was devolved on
Christ, the second Adam : and he hath it as one of his prerogatives,
by the covenant itself, made over to him in the i)roraissory part of
the covenant, particularly by the promise of a glorious reward of his
work in fulfilling the condition, John v. 27. It was for this cause
the last Adam was made a quickening spirit, as saith our second
text. And so he is ' given for a covenant of the people,' Isa. xlix.
8. ; which imports the constituting him Administrator of the cove-
nant, whereby the people, any people, Jews or Grentiles, may become
God's people, and receive all the benefits of that coA^enaut-relation
to God.
Now, that Christ is, by the authority of heaven, constituted or
made the covenant, imports these two things.
1. lie -is constituted and settled, by the authority of his Father,
Administrator of the covenant. As he had the burden of purchasing
the promised benefits, so he has the honour of distributing them,
according to the measures laid down in the eternal purpose of God,
with respect to the conferring of these benefits. None of tlie bene-
fits of the covenant are to be had, but out of his hand : he received
them from his Father, and sinners must receive them from him.
That this is the meaning of this phrase, is evident from the follow-
ing words, declaring the end of his being given for a covenant of tlie
people : ' To establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate he-
ritages,' ver. 9. compare chap. xlii. 6, 7- ' That thou mayst say to
the prisoners. Go forth.'
2. The whole of the covenant is in him. An administrator of
one's goods must have them in his custody ; he must have a power
over them, as Joseph, who was to furnish the people corn, had all
the granaries of Egypt at his command. Our Lord Jesus is such an
Administrator of the covenant, as has the whole of the covenant in
himself : so that he who has Christ has the covenant ; and he that
lias not Christ has no saving part or lot in it.
For opening of the administration of the covenant devolved on
Christ, we shall consider these three things, the objects, the ends,
and tlie nature of this administration.
352 OP THE COVENANT OP GRACE.
FIRST, who arc the objects of this his administration, the parties
to whom ho is impowcrcd, by commission from liis Father, to admi-
nister the covenant. The elect only were the parties represented by
the second Adam ; and to them only is the administration of the
covenant effectual to their salvation. But mankind-sinners inde-
finitely are the objects of the administration. The extent of it is
not founded on election, but on the sufficiency of Christ's obedience
and death for the salvation of all ; nor is it regulated by election,
but by the fulness of power in heaven and earth given to Christ as
the reward of his work, his obedience even unto death.
To confirm this truth, which is glad tidings for all sinners of
Adam's race, hearing that Christ is empowered by commission to
give them, and every one of them the covenant, and all the benefits
of it, to their eternal salvation, the following things may be con-
sidered.
1. The grant made of Christ by the Father, as the ordinance of
God for the salvation of lost sinners of mankind. When the Is-
raelites were in the wilderness, many of them were bitten by fiery
serpents : in that case Crod instituted an ordinance for their cure,
viz. a brazen serpent lifted up on a pole. And he made a grant of
it to all who would use it for that purpose of healing, for which
it was appointed of him, by looking to it, without excepi;ing any
that needed healing. Numb. xxi. 28, So all mankind being bitten
by the old serpent the devil, and sin as his deadly poison left in
them ; God has appointed Jesus Christ the ordinance of Ileaven for
their salvation, and has made a grant of him as such, to all of
Adam's lost posterity who will make use of him for that i)urpose, by
looking to him in the way of believing, without excejjting in this
grant any, if they are but of the world of mankind, John iii. 14,
15, 16.
2. The Mediator's commission for the administration is conceived
in most ample terms, Luke iv. 18, 19. Isa. Ixi. 1, 2. He is to ad-
minister the covenant, not only to the meek, poor, broken-hearted,
but to the captives, the blind, bruised, prisoners, slaves, and broken
men who have sold their inhei'itanco. What sort of sinners can one
imagine to bo excepted here ? These terms are too general to admit
of any exception as to sinners of mankind.
3. The ample powers given him as Administrator of the covenant.
All power in heaven and in earth is granted to him, l^Iatth. xxviii.
18. So there is none on earth excepted from his administering the
covenant to them ; the indemnity which the Father has put in the
hands of his own Sou to dispense, hath no excepted persons of man-
kind in it, but he is to dispense it to any of them all whom he will,
OP THE COVENANT OP GKACE. 353
John V. 21, 22. And it is remarkable, that upon this fulness of
power committed to the Administrator of the covenant, the general
offer of the gospel is founded, Mat. xi. 27, 28, and xxviii. 18, 19.
All without exception are declared welcome to come and suck of
these full breasts of divine consolations contained in the covenant.
4. Ilis executing of his commission in an unhampered manner, ad-
ministering the covenant indifferently to any sinners of mankind ;
not this or that party of them, under this or the other denomination,
but mankind in general, Prov. viii. 4. So the gospel in which the
covenant is administered, is good tidings to all people, Luke ii. 10 ;
and the gospel-feast is made unto all people, Isa. xxv. 6. Accor-
dingly he gives his ajjostles commission in most amj)le terms, than
which one cannot imagine more extensive, Mark xvi. 15. 'Go yo into
all the tuorld, and preach the gospel to even/ creatureJ
5. Consider to whom Christ stands related as a Saviour by ofhcc.
He is the Saviour of the body only, Eph. v. 23. being considered as
actually saving from sin and wrath. But considered as an official
Saviour, he is the Saviour of the world, as ho is expressly called,
1 John iv. 14. John iv. 42. And his salvation is called the ' com-
mon salvation,' Jude 3.
6. Lastly, If it were not so, then there would be some of mankind-
sinners excepted, for whom there would be no manner of warrant to
believe in Christ, or take hold of the covenant, more than there is
for devils : which is contrary to the scriptures, John iii. 16. Mark
xvi. 15*.
Use. Know yo then that our Lord Jesus is empowered to admini-
ster the covenant of grace to you, and each one of you. There is a
Saviour provided for you, to Avhom you have a right, and to whom
you may have access for life and salvation. Ye have heard much
of the promised benefits of the covenant : let none say, they are ex-
cluded from them. On the contrary, whatever ye are or have been,
your name is in Christ's commission for administering the covenant :
and ye must cither take that covenant, or perish as despisers of it.
SECONDLY, What are the ends of this administration, or the
business thus put into Christ's hand.
1. To bring sinners into the covenant personally and savingly,
Isa. xlix. 5.
2. When they are brought in, to be the sole manager of them, ac-
cording to the covenant, till death, John v. 22.
3. To complete the happiness of his covenant-people, according
to the covenant, in another world, Eph. v. 27- Col. i. 22.
The above particuiara are more largely illustrated, iibi supra, uudi-r the title, Sin-
ners of mankind the object of th^: administration of the covenant.
354 OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
These are the ends of this administration committed to Jesus
Christ ; this is tlie work that he hath to do as administrator of the
covenant. And the putting it in liis hand was a method of grace at
once adapted to the glory of God the offended party, the comfort
and safety of sinners who had given the offence, and the honour of
the Mediator the glorious Peace maker*.
THIRDLY, I come to consider the nature of this administration.
And hereof wo may have a view, by observing Christ's relations to
the covenant, in whicli he stands as Administrator of it. We have
seen already, that Jesus Christ, as party-contractor on man's side in
the covenant, became the Mediator of the covenant, both substantial
and official ; that with respect to the conditionary part of it, he be-
came the kinsman Redeemer in the covenant, the Surety of the co-
venant, and the Priest, the atoning Priest thereof. It remains that
we consider his relations to the covenant as he is Administrator of
it, which respects the promissory part thereof. And thus he bears
a fivefold relation to the covenant, viz. the Trustee, the Testator,
the Prophet, the King, and Intercessor of the covenant ; each of
which is a syllable of that name above every name, given him of the
Fatherf.
From what has been said of the administration of the covenant,
we make the following inferences.
1. As the covenant is well ordered in itself, so it is well ordered
in point of its administration ; and so it is ordered in all things,
2 Sam. xxiii. 5. Many a good bargain is marred as to the success
of it by mismanagement, through the unskilfulness and unfitness of
him into whose hands it is committed. But the covenant is put into
the hand of an infallible Administrator, perfectly fit to deal with
all concerned therein, and so cannot miss of an issue agreeable to
the design of it. Two things are of fatal consequence in such mat-
ters. (1.) Unskilfulness ; and (2.) Want of power and ability.
Through either of these in the manager, a promising contrivance
may be marred in the management of it. The administration of the
covenant of grace is a matter that requires the utmost skill, con-
sidering the difficulty of the thing in itself, and the ill disposition
sinners are of with relation to it. But Jesus Christ is infinitely
wise, and nothing can escape his foresight or observation, Col. ii. 3.
He knows well the fit times and seasons, and has ' the tongue of the
learned, that he should know how to speak a word in season to him
* See these particulars amplified, ubi supra, under the title, The ends of the admi-
nistration of the covenant.
t See all these relations illustrated, uhi supra, under their respective titles.
OP THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 355
that is weary,' Isa. 1. 4. There are many adversaries, set to oppose
ami counteract the design of the glorious contrivance, the admini-
stration of which is put in his hand : the whole force of hell is
banded against it. But he is sufficiently enabled to carry it on
over the belly of them all : all power in heaven and in earth being
given him. And therefore one may conclude, that when the
mystery of God shall be finished, the issue will be found exactly to
answer the eternal plan.
2. While the covenant is administered to you, it is Jesus Christ
himself with whom you have to do in that matter ; he is the great
Ambassador of heaven to you and each one of you, in this matter of
the covenant, Heb. xii, 25. Ye would then look above ministers
and ordinances unto himself, and regard them as persons and things
by which Jesus Christ himself is treating with you, and regard him
as your party with whom yc have to do. If ministers go beyond
the bounds of their commission, ye may safely so far disregard what
they say or do in that manner : but to fill your hearts with preju-
dices against them, on account of such and such faults ye espy in
them, especially on the account of doing their duty, and so make
yourselves very easy as to the ordinances by them administered,
and to slight these ordinances under pretence that ye can spend the
time otherwise to as great advantage ; this is but to look on them
as divided in their ministration from Christ, and so to cheat your
own souls, 2 Cor. v. 20. Luke x. 16. What God then has joined,
it will be dangerous so to put asunder. If ye took Christ himself
for the i)arty dealing with you, as indeed he is, it would engage you
to take good heed how ye entertain the administration of the cove-
nant among you.
3. They who would partake of the covenant, must come to Christ
by faith, Isa. Iv. 3. for that effect. lie has the administration of it
in his hand : so it is from him we must get it, with all the benefits
and privileges of it. The whole of it is in him ; so uniting with
him we have it, and only that way we can have it. As is your in-
terest in Christ, so is your interest in the covenant of grace ; if he
is yours in the way of special interest, your souls being married to
him ; then the privileges of the covenant are all yours, and the co-
venant is the security ye have for them, if ye are strangers to Christ,
ye are strangers to the covenant of promise too, and so without
hope and without God in the world.
4. Such as are personally entered into the covenant in a saving
manner, and would improve the covenant for their daily needs, must
still be coming to Christ for that end ; since he is the Administra-
tor of it, all the benefits of it arc dispensed by his hand, John i. 16.
356 OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
So tho life of a Christian comes to bo a life of faith : forasmuch as
the whole supply afforded them from heaven is benefits of the cove-
nant, and the riches of the covenant are in Christ's hand as Admi-
nistrator of it ; and the way of believing in Christ is the way
appointed for receiving them from him. So the more a Christian is
in the exercise of faith, the more he employs the Administrator ;
and the more he employs him, the more liberally he shares of the
things of tho covenant.
5. Sinners have abundant encouragement and security for their
coming into the covenant, by believing in the Lord Jesus. We are
not called to come to enter into a covenant with an unvailed God,
the rays of whose glory in his holiness, justice and truth, and all
his other perfections, might quite damp and dispirit the guilty crea-
ture ; but as Christ as a second Adam has made the covenant with
his Father, and fulfilled it in the whole of the condition thereof re-
quired on our part ; so it is j)ut in his hand, who is bone of our
bone and flesh of our flesh, to administer it unto any of the family
of Adam ; and in him we have the whole of it. Here all is ready
for us, suited to our case. And we have his word of the gospel for
our security, Matth. xxii. 4. and John vi. 37. And well may we
trust him, believing the Son, believing his word, since the Father
has trusted him with the whole administration of the covenant.
6. Lastly, There is no man who has the ofter of Christ made him
in the gospel, but if he continue in his sin, and die in it, he will
perish with a witness, without all shadow of excuse, John xv. 22.
The covenant is the contrivance of Heaven for salvation to lost sin-
ners : in the administration of it, none are excluded from the be-
nefit thereof ; the net is spread out for even the worst of sinners,
wherever the gospel comes. There is enough in the covenant for
the worst of cases ; the promises of it are made suitable to the sin-
ner's case, both in respect of sin and of misery ; so that whatever is
their case, in the covenant there is a suitable cure. And that the
sinner may at once lay hold on all, Grod has given Christ as the co-
venant to the people, making the embracing of Christ, the short and
sure way for the sinner to have all. In him is lodged the quick-
ening Spirit : so that by applying to him we may have life. They
must then be left inexcusable who reject the offer of Christ, and
will not come to him, that they may have life, John v. 40.
And now having opened to you the doctrine of the covenant of
grace, that covenant on which the salvation of our souls depends, in
discoursing of the parties in it, the parts of it, and the administra-
tion of it, I shall shut up the discourse on this subject, with a two-
fold use of the whole.
OF THE COVENANT OP GRACE. 357
Use I. Of trial. Let every one put the question to himself,
What interest have I in this covenant ? Are ye personally brought
within the covenant of grace in a saving manner, or not ?
For your help in this inquiry, I shall oifer you some marks or
characters of those who by grace are personally instated through
faith in the covenant of grace, before the Lord, under Christ the
second Adam as their head.
1. They are such as have fled for refuge from the covenant of
works to the covenant of grace, Heb. vi. 17, 18.
2. They are such as cordially approve of and acquiesce in the
plan of the covenant, as suited to the honour of God, and to their
case in particular, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5.
3. Having the discovery made to them of the covenant as made
from eternity betwixt God and the second Adam, and in the gospel
oflfered to them, they will satisfy themselves with Heaven's draught
of it in their covenanting, so far as they understand it, and not go
about to add to it, or diminish from it, Acts ix. 6.
4. The love of God in Christ, is habitually predominant in them,
Prov. ^nii. 17- ' I love them that love me.'
5. Jesus Christ, the head of the covenant, is their head with their
own consent.
6. The condition of the covenant, as fulfilled by Jesus Christ, is
the alone ground of their confidence before the Lord, as to accept-
ance with God for time and eternity, and as to any of all the bene-
fits of the covenant they look to partake of, Phil. iii. 3.
7. The promises of the covenant are a satisfying portion to their
hearts, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5.
8. The spirit of the covenant is in them ; and that is another
spirit than what the men of the world are actuated by, Ezek. xxxvi.
27.
9. The laws of the covenant are in their hearts the holy law of
the ten commandments, the eternal rule of righteousness, Heb. viii.
10*.
Use II. Of exhortation to sinners and to saints.
FIRST, Let sinners be exhorted to come into this covenant, by
embracing it personally for themselves, so as they may be instated
therein to all saving purposes. This covenant is brought to, and set
before you in the gospel ; so that you and every one of you must
either be receivers or refusers of it. 0 i*efuse it not, for the refu-
sing is dangerous beyond expression. Take hold of it, and embrace
• See all these particulars amplified, ubi supra, tit. Trial of a saving personal in-
being in the covenant of grace.
358 OF THE COVENANT OP GRACE.
it, for it is your life : come, enter into it without delay. Ye arc
under the covenant of works, 0 sinners ! where ye can have no life
nor salvation. But the door of tlie new covenant is opened unto
you, come, flee from the covenant ye were born under, and are
living under; and let the sacred knot be cast this day, by your
entering within the bond of the covenant of grace, accepting and
embracing the offered covenant, to the instating of you personally in
it, to all the purposes of life and salvation, grace and glory, by it.
But that ye may more clearly perceive the duty ye are called to,
and may not walk in the dai'k, in your aiming at embracing the co-
venant, and that the motives to it may have the more weight, I
shall,
1. Lay before you, by what means it is that a soul embraceth the
covenant of grace, and is instated in it effectually to salvation.
2. Offer some motives to press the exhortation on sinners to enter
personally into the covenant.
First, I shall lay before you, by what means it is that a soul em-
braceth the covenant of grace, and is instated in it effectually to
salvation. This, in one word, is by faith in Jesus Christ, Acts xvi.
31. The covenant is held forth in the gospel to you : God saith to
every one of you, ' I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
even the sure mercies of David.' And to state you in it personally,
and to close the bargain with you, to all the intents and purposes of
salvation, all that is required of you is to hear, that is, to believe,
Isa. Iv. 3. He that believeth is within the covenant of grace per-
sonally and savingly ? he that believeth not, is still under the cove-
nant of works, where the first Adam left him. This is the hand
that takes hold of the covenant ; thereby one signs the covenant for
himself, and closes the bargain for his own salvation. This is the
mouth of the soul, by which it consents to the covenant ; and Grod
becomes your God in covenant, and ye his covenanted people. So
when we call you to embrace the covenant, and enter into it person-
ally, all that wo call you to is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
That believing on Christ should be the appointed mean of enter-
ing sinners into the covenant of grace, is very agreeable to the na-
ture and end of that great transaction. For,
(1.) Hereby the grace of the cpvenant is i)reserved entire in the
dispensation of the covenant ; and by that means the i)romise is
made sure to all the seed, Rom. iv. 16. Faith is contradistinguished
to works, as grace is to debt, Rom. iv. 4, 5. If any work or doing
of ours were that upon which we were instated in the covenant, and
got the right to the promise, then the covenant, and benefits of it,
would be of debt to us, contrary to the A^ery design of that method
OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 359
of salvation, which is to exalt the free grace of God, and cut off all
boasting. But the nature of faith on Clu"ist is adapted to tlic exalt-
ing of grace, inasmuch as it is a grace purely receiving, not giving ;
taking all from Christ, without money and without price ; laying
the stress of the soul's acceptance with God wholly on what Christ
has done and suffered ; and renouncing entirely all doings and suf-
ferings of our own in that point.
(2.) Hereby the sinner enters into the covenant, by uniting with
Christ, who was the representative with whom it was made, John x.
9, and so the unity of the covenant and the representation in it, are
preserved. If men entered into the covenant another way, as by
accepting such and such properly called terms to them proposed,
•and promising for themselves the performance of them, the repre-
sentation in the second covenant is marred, and there would in effect
be as many covenants of grace, as there are persons embracing it at
different times ; at least Christ's covenant would be one, and ours
another. But the covenant of grace being made with Christ, as the
second Adam, in the name of all such as should be his, it is evident,
that the only way of one's personal entering into such a covenant,
must be by becoming his, standing related to the head of the cove-
nant, as our head : and it is by faith, and no work or consent of
ours differing from faith, that we are united to him, and become
members of his body, Eph. iii. 17.
But here ariseth a weighty question, necessary to be touched, for
clearing your way into the covenant, viz. What is that believing, by
which one unites with Christ, and so enters into the covenant of
grace ? Believing, in the scripture use of the word, is trusting a
word, person, or thing. And hence the scripture phrases of believing
to, and heliemmj in, i. e. having trust to and in ; phrases, however
unusual with us in conversation, yet ordinary both in the Old and
New Testament. It is the trusting a word, as totreport, Isa. liii. 1,
in God's words, Psal. cvi. 12. It is trusting a person: thus the Is-
raelites ' believed the Lord and his servant Moses ; Heb. believed in
the Lord, and in Moses his servant.' Job iv. 18. Heb. ' lie believed
not in his servants,' i. e. trusted them not. And it is the trusting a
thing too, Job xxxix. 12. * Wilt thou believe him,' viz. the unicorn ?
Heb. ' believe in him,' i. e. trust in him. Dent, xxviii. 66. Heb.
' Thou shalt not believe in thy life.' — And thence I conclude, tliat
saving faith is, in the general, the trusting of a word, and of a per-
son and thing held forth in that word.
Now, there is a twofold word to be believed by all those who
would enter into the covenant of grace in a saving manner, namely,
the word of the law, and the word of the gospel. The believing of
360 OV THE COVENANT OT GRACE.
the former is a faith of the law ; and of the latter, a faith of the
•rospel. The faith of the law is the work of the Spirit of God, as
well as the saving faith of the gospel, though wrought by him in a
very different manner. The former he works by the law, as a Spirit
of conviction and bondage, convincing of sin and misery, Rom. viii.
15. with John xvi. 8. The latter he works by the gospel, as a
quickening Spirit, a Spirit of saving illumination and adoption.
Whosoever then would enter into the covenant of grace, must, in
the first place, have a faith of the law ; which therefore is necessary
to be preached to sinners. And by it a man believes three things.
1. That he is a sinner, a breaker of the laAv's commands, liable to
divine vengeance. The law pronounces him a guilty man, and he
believes the report of the law concerning himself in particular; and
• so, by this faith, his heavy and sorrowful heart echoes back to the
voice of the law, Guilty, guilty ! Rom. iii. 19. This faith is a divine
faith, founded upon the testimony of God in his holy law ; and rests
not in the testimony of men, whether spoken or written. The Spirit
of God as a Spirit of bondage, brings home the law to the man's
conscience, and persuades him, that that law is the voice of the eter-
nal God, and the voice of that God to him in particular ; and so
convinces him of sin upon God's own testimony. And thus he be-
lieves.
(1.) That his life and conversation is sinful and corrupt, displeas-
ing and hateful in the sight of a holy God, according to the divine
testimony, Rom. iii. 12. ' They are all gone out of the way, they are
together become unprofitable, there is none that doeth good, no not
one.' He believes, what is true, that his omissions and commissions
are to him innumerable ; his righteousness and unrighteousness are
both together sinful and displeasing to a holy God ; that he is gone
out of the way of God, and is walking in the way of destruction and
misery. •
(2.) That his heart is full of mischief and iniquity, according to
the divine testimony, Jer. xvii. 9. ' The heart is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked.' He sees those hellish lusts there,
which he little noticed before. The law shining into the heart, dis-
covers them ; and pressing the man, irritates them ; so as he believ-
eth, that he has such a mystery of iniquity in his heart, as he could
never before believe to be there, Rom. vii. 9.
(3.) That his nature is quite corrupted, according to the divine
testimony, as one 'dead in trespasses and sins,' Eph. ii. 1. And so
his soul echoes back to the law's testimony, ' I was shapen in ini-
quity, and in sin did my mother conceii^e me,' Psal. li. 5. crying,
Unclean, unclean. He sees that his disease is not accidental, but
OV THK COVENANT OF GRACE. 301
natural and hereditary ; and so that his nature cannot be mended,
but must be renewed. And so he believes, not only that he does no
good, but that he can do no good. And in all these respects he sees
and believes himself to be an object loathsome in the sight of a holy
God, loathsome in respect of his life, heart, and nature too.
2. By the law man believes, that he is a lost and undone sinner,
under the curse of the law for his sin. Gal. iii. 10. He no more
looks on the curse of the law as some strange thing, belonging only
to some monsters of wickedness, and far from him. But the Spirit
of God brings home the dreadful sentence of that broken law, and
applies it close to him, as if he had said, thou art the man. And
he groans out his belief thereof under the felt weight thereof, like
a man under the sentence of death, Rom. vii. 9.
3. By it a man believes, that he is utterly incapable to help him-
self, and so that he must inevitably perish for ever if he get not
help. He believes, that he cannot, by all his doings and sufferings,
remove the curse of the law from off him, according to the divine
testimony, as being ' without strength,' Rom. v. 6. nor change his
own nature, heart, and life, in a right manner, according to that in-
fallible testimony, ' Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leo-
pard Ids spots ? then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do
evil,' Jcr. xiii. 23. He believes himself to be a dead man spiritu-
ally ; legally dead, and morally dead, as the apostle testifies of
himself in that case, Rom. vii. 9.
This is the faith of the law : and the effect of it is a legal repen-
tance, whereby the soul is broken and bruised with fear and terror
of the wrath of God, grieves and sorrows for sin as a ruining and
destructive evil, seriously desires therefore to be freed from it, de-
spairs of salvation by itself, and seriously looks out for relief ano-
ther way. Acts ii. 37. and xvi. 29, 30. Thus the law is a school-
master to bring us unto Christ ; and the faith of the law makes way
for the faith of the gospel. Not that this legal faith or legal repen-
tance is the condition of the soul's welcome to Christ and the cove-
nant of grace ; our access to Christ and the, covenant is proclaimed
free, without any conditions or qualifications required in us to war-
rant us sinners of mankind to believe in Jesus Christ. But they
are necessary to move and excite us to make use of our privilege of
free access to Christ and the covenant : so that the sinner will never
come to Christ nor embrace the covenant without them.
In calling you then to embrace the covenant, ye are called indi-
rectly, and by consequence to this faith of the law, to believe that
ye are sinners in life, heart, and nature ; lost and undone, under the
2a
362 OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
curse ; and utterly unable to help yourselves. Yet this is not
saving faith.
Saving faith, which unites to Christ, is the faith of the gospel :
for the gospel only is the ministration of righteousness, 2 Cor. iii. 9.
It is in it that the righteousness of faith is revealed unto faith, to
be believed, Rom. i. 17- That is the word which gives the sinner
the only notice of a Saviour, of the atoning blood, and the new co-
venant in that blood. And hence it is that it is the only word by
which saving faith is begotten in the hearts of lost sinners. Gal. iii.
2. In this word of the gospel the Lord Jesus, with all his benefits
and covenant, is to be believed on and embraced by faith, Rom. x.
8. And the word of the gospel being received by believing, we
have Christ and his covenant, with all the benefits of it ; faith being
indeed the echo of the quickened soul to the word of grace that
bringeth salvation, Mark i. 15. Isa. liii. 1. Gral. iii. 2. a trusting of
the word of the gospel, tlie person, viz. the Saviour, and the thing
therein held forth to us to be believed on for salvation.
This is that believing by which we are united to Christ, and en-
tered into the covenant of grace. So the question being put, how
shall I personally enter into the covenant of grace in a saving
manner ? I answer in the following particulars.
First, You must believe that there is a fulness of salvation in
Christ for poor sinners. This is the constant report of the gospel
concerning him, Eph. iii. 8. Heb. vii. 25. He is therein held forth,
as an able Saviour, able to save men from their sins, and from the
wrath of God. His merit is a sufficient defence against the tempest
of fiery wrath that incensed justice is ready to cause to fly forth
against transgressors, Isa. xxxii. 2. His spirit is suflicient to sanc-
tify the most unholy, 1 Cor. vi. 11. The righteousness he fulfilled
as the condition of the covenant is so valuable in itself, and in the
eyes of his Father, that it is sufficient to procure justification, sanc-
tification, and all other saving benefits to sinners, who in themselves
deserve death and damnation. So that they are happy who are in
him, and they shall never perish, but have everlasting life; and
they shall be eternally secure under the covert of his righteousness,
as a sufficient defence. Believest thou this ?
This is the general faith of the gospel, which, being without par-
ticular application, doth not unite the sinner to Christ, nor enter
him into the covenant ; and may be found in reprobates and fallen
angels, as being only an assent in general to the truth of the doc-
trine of the gospel, Matth. xiii. 20, 21. and viii. 29. But it is ne-
cessarily pre-requisite to a faith of particular application, by the
nature of the thing ; f(5r I must first believe a saying to be true in
OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 363
"»
itself, before I can trust to it for my part ; .and I must first believe
a tiling to be good in itself, before I can believe it is good for me.
But where this faith is carried forward to uniting with Christ, it is-
sues in an ardent desire of union and communion with Christ, an
high esteem of him and his covenant, and a longing for his righte-
ousness, as a hungry man for meat, or a thirsty man for drink.
Secondly, Ye must believe that Jesus Christ, with his righteous-
ness and all his salvation, is by himself offered to sinners, and to
you in particular. This is the plain voice of the gospel, Isa. Iv. 1.
Rev. xxii. 17- Prov. viii. 4. But, alas ! few believe it ; yea, none
will believe it to purpose, till the Spirit of the Lord make it plain
to them, and persuade them by an inward illumination. Many se-
cure sinners hear the gospel, and are glad of the offer; but they dis-
cern not Christ's voice in it ; they hear it not as the voice of Christ
himself to them, but as the word of men ; hence it hath no due
authority upon their consciences, and so they pass it over lightly.
But where true faith is a-working, the word of the gospel-offer
is by the Holy Spirit inwardly brouglit home and applied to the soul
in particular, with power, as the word of the Lord himself, and not
of men, whereby the man is assured that it is the voice of Christ,
and to him in particular, 1 Thess. i. 5. and ii. 13. And so the man
applies it to himself by believing. This is necessary ; for without
it there can be no receiving of Christ, and the soul can see no solid
ground of faith : For it is evident, that there can be no receiving
aright, where the sinner does not believe the offer to be made to him
in particular. And here begins the application of faith, an appli-
cation tending to union with Christ.
Wherefore, if ye would unite with Christ, and so enter into the
covenant of grace, sist yourselves before the Lord as condemned sin-
ners under the curse of the law ; and hear and believe the word of
the gospel as made to you condemned and cursed sinners in particu-
lar. And so it will come to you as the ofter of a pardon to one un-
der sentence of death, as the rising sun to one sitting in darkness,
and the shadow of death. And let not your heart misgive by unbe-
lief, but believe the offer, to be made to you, as it is indeed, (Isa. Iv.
3.) by Christ himself.
TJdrcUy, Te must believe that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the
world, and your Saviour in particular, by the Father's appointment
and his own offer ; and that, by the same appointment and offer,
his righteousness the condition of the covenant, and eternal life the
promise of the covenant, are yours : Tours, I mean not in posses-
sion, but in right thereto, so far as ye may lawfully and warrant-
ably take possession of, and use them as your own to all intents and
2 a2
364 OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
purposes of salvation. Think not this too much for you : it is no
more than what is necessary to saving faith in Christ. If you be-
lieve only in the general that Christ is the Saviour of the world,
and don't believe that he is your Saviour in particular, what do yo
believe more than devil's do ? They believe that he is Jesus a Sa-
viour, Mark i. 24. Ye must needs believe that he is your Saviour,
if ye would go beyond them, and consequently that his righteous-
ness and salvation is yours, in the sense before opened; for where
Christ is given, all is given with him, Rom. viii. 32. How can you
take or receive him as your Saviour, if he is not yours indeed ? A
man may take possession fraudulently indeed of what he does not
believe to be his by right: but no man can fairly and honestly
claim and take possession of what he does not believe to be his own.
Certainly God must first give Christ to us, before we can receive
him, John iii. 27- Giving on God's part, and receiving on ours, are
corelates, and the former must needs go before the latter. There-
fore believe firmly, that Christ is your Saviour in particular, his
righteousness is yours, and eternal life is yours.
Fourthli/, Ye must wholly trust in him as your own Saviour, and
in his righteousness as made over to you, for his whole salvation to
you in particular, upon the ground of God's faithfulness in his word.
This is that saving faith, or believing on Christ Jesus, by which a
sinner is united unto Chi'ist, and personally entered within the co-
venant of grace. Acts xvi. 31. Isa. xxvi. 3, 4. Rom. i. 17. Phil,
iii. 9. Gal. ii. 16. Acts xv. 11. 1 Thess. ii. 13. 1 Cor. ii. 5.
This, according to tlie scripture, is a sinner's receiving and resting
upon Christ for salvation, as saving faith is defined in our Cate-
chism. And this is indeed believing and nothing but believing, ac-
cording to the scriptural use of that word.
1. I say, this is j)lainly believing in the scriptural use of that
word. It is a trusting of or in a person, viz. Jesus Christ, and God
in him, the personal object of saving faith. Acts xvi. 31 ; — a trust-
ing in a thing, viz, the righteousness of Christ, the ultimate real
object of faith, Rom. i. 17- therefore called faith in his blood, Rom.
iii. 25. — and a trusting in a word, viz. in the record and testimony
of God, the word of the promise of the gospel, John iii. 16. the
proximate or nearest real object of faith. And all this for the great
purpose and end of salvation.
2. This is the receiving of Christ aloue for salvation, John i. 12.
God has appointed Christ Saviour of the world, and your Saviour :
you hear that published in the gospel, and you believe accordingly,
that he is your Saviour, by his Father's appointment and his own
offer : thereupon you trust on him, and on him alone, for salvation,
OP THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 365
and all you need for salvation. Is not this a receiving of him for
your part in the character of a Saviour, wherein his Father sent
him to you ? a taking of him to yourself as he is offered to you ?
an using of him as your own Saviour by the divine appointment and
offer, as trusting him for the ends for which that offer and appoint-
ment was made ? Thus your whole case is put in his hand, with
heart and good-will ; and you truly receive him as appointed for
and offered to you.
3. This is resting on Christ alone for salvation, according to the
scripture, Isa. xxvi. 3. Neither can one imagine what way a person
can rest on a word, or a soul can rest upon a person, but by trusting
them, or trusting in them. See 2 Chron. xxxii. 8. and xiv. 11. So
I conclude, that this trust in Christ is that believing on him, by
which the soul is united to Christ, and brought into the covenant in
a saving manner. And for opening of it, consider the import of this
trust.
(1.) It imports not only a willingness, but a sincere and earnest
desire to be delivered from sin and wrath ; a desire to be sanctified
as well as to be justified ; to be delivered from the reigning power,
pollution, practice, and inbeing of sin, as well as from the guilt of
it, Rom. vii. 24, 25. For it is trusting on Christ, not for the half
of his salvation, viz. salvation from wrath only, as many do who are
by no means desirous to part with sin ; but for the whole of it, even
salvation from sin too, the principal part thereof, Matth. i. 21.
Faith is a believing with the heart and affection of the soul. The
whole salvation of Christ is the believer's choice : it is the end he
desires to compass, and the trust of faith is exerted as the means to
compass that end.
(2.) A renouncing of all confidence in all that is not Christ or in
Christ, as to that matter particularly. Faith overturns self-confi-
dence, law-confidence, and creature-confidence, to build on a quite
new ground, Phil. iii. 3. and Jer. xvi. 19. For it is a trusting in
Christ and his righteousness wholly, a trusting or believing with all
the heart, Prov. iii. 5. and Acts viii. 37. The believer is carried off
the works of the law, to the blood of Jesus, for his justification ;
and out of himself too, unto the Spirit of holiness, for sanctification ;
being persuaded that no doing or suffering of his own can procure
to him the pardon of, or atone for the least transgression ; and that
he is not able truly to mortify one lust, more than to purge away
the guilt of one sin, Matth. v. 3. and Isa. xlv. 24. Thus is the
sandy foundation overturned, that the soul may build on Christ the
Rock.
(3.) A hearty approbation of the plan of salvation according to
2 A 3
366 or THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
the covenant, manifested in the gospel, as suited to the divine per-
fections, and to the case of sinners, and their own case in particular,
Matth. xi. 6. and 1 Cor. i. 23, 24. Without this, no man that
knows what God is, what sin is, and wliat is the worth of his own
Bonl, will ever venture his salvation upon it. One's trusting his
salvation to Christ and his righteousness, speaks him to be well
pleased therewith, as what oue may safely trust to, and that in the
sight of a holy just God. And this is that rejoicing in Christ Jesus
which makes an illustrious part of the believer's character, Phil,
iii. 3. It implies,
[1 .] An eyeing of Jesus Christ in this matter as a crucified Sa-
viour, having fulfilled all righteousness, according to the stated con-
dition of the covenant, 1 Cor. ii. 2. This is the view that faith
takes of Christ, while the sinner stands trembling before a holy
God, beholding him as lifted up on the cross, as the brazen serpent
was on the pole in the wilderness, Isa. xlv. 22. So faith is called
faith in his blood, Rom. iii. 25. ; his righteousness whereof the shed-
ding of his blood was the completing part, being the only spring of
the believer's hope.
[2.] A real persuasion of the sufficiency of Christ's righteousness,
to save sinners, and them in particular, from sin and wrath ; to an-
swer for them before a holy just God in the eye of his holy law, and
procure for them eternal holiness and happiness, Phil. iii. 9. There
is no saving faith without this ; Christ's ability must be believed,
and that with application to your own case. Matt. ix. 28. And in
order to this, faith fixes its view on Christ's righteousness, as the
righteousness of God, and so of infinite value and efficacy, Phil. iii.
9. 1 John i. 7. The reason why the gospel, and no other doctrine
whatever, is the power of God to the salvation of sinners, is because
therein is revealed the righteousness of God unto faith, Rom. i. 16,
17. ; and that is the only righteousness suited to the divine perfec-
tions and the sinner's case.
[3.] An acquiescing in that way of salvation for themselves,
Matth. xi. 6. The believer sees the sufficiency and safety of it, and
he hath a cordial liking of it for the way of his salvation. The mis-
tery of Christ is to him the power of God, and the wisdom of God,
1 Cor. i. 24. His soul pronounces them safe and blessed that are in
it ; he desires for his own part to be found in it, Phil. iii. 9. and is
persuaded he would be well, saved from sin and wrath, if he were in
it.
(4.) A betaking one's self unto Christ aud his righteousness alone,
for salvation from sin and wrath. This is done by this trusting on
him and his righteousness wholly, Ruth ii. 12. The sinner believ-
OF THE COVEKiVNT OF GRACE. 367
iug that Christ is his Saviour and that his righteousness, is made
over to him by free gift, and Avithal that this his Saviour, with his
righteousness is suHicient to save him from sin and wratli, doth ac-
cordingly trust on Christ and his righteousness, for salvation from
sin and wrath.
5. Lastly, An affiance, confidence, or trust on Christ and his
righteousness, that he will save us from sin and wrath, according to
his promise. That faith is an affiance, confidence, or trust, is evi-
dent from the whole tenor of the holy scripture. So it is expressly
called, Isa. xxvi. 3, 4. and 1. 10. Psal. xxviii. ?• and cxviii. 8, 9.
Heb. X. 35. And that it is a particular trust, viz. that Christ will
save us, is evident from the nature of the thing : for he that trusts
in a person for a thing, hath surely a persuasion of the same degree
with the trust, that that person will do that thing for him. And
hence where the party trusted doth fail, the party trusting is con-
founded and ashamed, as being disappointed in that which he
trusted he would do for him : and since the trust of faith is never
disappointed, therefore it is observed, that the believer shall never
be ashamed, Rom. x. 11. 1 Pet. ii, 6. 2 Tim. i. 12.; which plainly
imports the trust of faith in the Lord to be, that he will do for the
sinner what he trusts him for, otherwise there would be no place for
this shame in any case*.
Secondly, I come now to oflfer some motives to press the exhor-
tation on sinners to enter personally into the covenant.
1. Being out of this covenant, ye are under the broken covenant
of works, which makes your state a deplorable one. Some stand off
from the gospel covenant, because they do not incline to come under
a covenant with God. But, alas ! they do not consider, that there
never was nor will be a moment of their life wherein they were or
are free from a covenant with God. Ye are born under the cove-
nant of works, and the bond of the covenant is fast wreathed about
your necks, as long as ye are out of the covenant of grace : for the
two covenants divide the whole world between them, Rom. vi. 14. ;
and there is no getting out of the bond of the first covenant, but by
marrying with Christ, and so coming under the bond of the second,
Rom. vii. 4. And of the broken covenant I may say, that it is
strong to command, curse, condemn, and kill those under it. Gal. iii.
lU. but absolutely barren as to the affording strength for duty, life,
or salvation, Rom. viii. 3.
• Some few coiargements in these particulars, with objections of serious exercised
souls relative to the doctrine here laid down, and answers thereto may be seen, ubi su-
pra, under the title, The faith of the gospd instating in the covenant.
368 OP THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
2. Yo are all under the covenant of grace externally and by pro-
fession, as being baptized in the name of Christ, Gal. iii. 27. Why
will ye not really be what you have professed to be, members of
Christ, believing in him, within the bond of the covenant in a saving
manner ? Why will ye aggravate your own condemnation, by pro-
fessing to take hold of the covenant, and yet before the Lord
keeping your necks out of that yoke ?
3. It is a most honourable covenant. The parties in it confe-
derate arc God and his own Son Jesus Christ, and in him the
general assembly of the first-born, whose names are written in
heaven. And seemeth it a small thing to you to be confederated
with these ? ^
4. It is a most precious covenant, being a covenant in the blood
of the Son of God, 1 Cor. xi. 25. It could not be purchased other-
wise : heaven and earth, set at odds by the breaking of the first co-
venant, could not be united again at less expence. Slight it not.
5. It is a most advantageous covenant, and most suitable for you.
It is most advantageous for time and for eternity, 1 Tim. iv. 8.
There is no case you are or can be in, but there is a suitable help
for it in the covenant. Yea, it is suited to your inability for the
duties of it, not by loosing the bond of the holy commandments, but
promising strength, Ezek. xxxvi. 27. and to your fickleness and na-
tive instability, John x. 28, 29.
6. It is freely offered to you, and every one of you. Rev. xxii. 17-
Not only is there a warrant for your entering into it, but that war-
rant is intimated to you, and ye are invited, yea commanded, to
come in, Luke xiv. 23. 1 John iii. 23.
7. Jesus Christ himself is appointed Administrator of it to you,
Isa. Ixi. 1. Regard it for the sake of the glorious Administrator.
He is Heaven's Ambassador to you, and every one of you, in tlie
matter of this covenant : so that if ye refuse it, ye must refuse it at
his hand.
8. lie administers it to sinners very honourably, taking them to
himself, that he may bring them into the covenant, admitting them
into it by union with himself.
9. Lastly, Without this covenant there is no salvation, Eph. ii.
12. Either ye must be in it, or perish for ever. When the first co-
venant was broken, there was a second made for the help of sinners;
if ye refuse the second, there is not a third. It is the last ship
bound for Immanuel's land.
Wherefore let this be a time of your embracing the covenant ;
and ye that have embraced it before, renew your acceptance of it,
that ye may get it sealed by the sacrament.
OP THE COVENANT OP GRACE. 369
(1.) Stir up the faith of the law in your own souls, as a prepara-
tive to the faith of the gospel.
(2.) Set before you the promises of the gospel, and believe on
Jesus Christ, in whom they are all yea and Amen.
(3.) Lastly, In solemn prayer to God, be as express and par-
ticular as may be in these things, and so solemnly enter into the co-
venant in express words before the Lord, Isaiah xliv. 5.
SECONDLY, and lastly. Let those who have personally entered
into the covenant of grace, and are now by faith instated in it, walk
worthy of the covenant, walk as becomes the covenant, Phil. i. 27.
Look to the covenant which ye are taken into, and let your life and
conversation be agreeable thereto.
1. Be holy in the whole of your life, 1 Pet. i. 15. Holiness is
the great end of the covenant, next to the glory of God. It is the
holy covenant ye are brought into ; holiness goes through the whole
of it, and the design of it was to make sinners holy. And ye must
evidence the reality of your being in it by holiness, holiness of
heart and life, Psal. xxiv. 3, 4. An unholy life, and an uu sanc-
tified heart in which sin rules and reigus, will be a decisive evidence
of estrangedness from the covenant.
2. Turu not back to your former lusts in your state without the
covenant, 1 Pet. i. 14. The men of the first covenant live, and
cannot but live in their sins, because death domineers under that co-
venant : aud living lusts feed on their souls, as worms do on the
dead body. But under the covenant of grace, life reigns ; and the
soul being thereby restored to life, v/ill cast oft' these, Col. iii. 7, 8.
Beware of backsliding and apostasy. It is dangerous to the last
degree, Luke ix. 62. ' No man having put his hand to the plough,
and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.' That is the way
hyj)ocritcs pull off their mask, 1 John ii. 19. Remember Lot's wife.
But true believers shall be saved from it, Ileb. x. 38, 39. 'Now
the just shall live by faith ; but if any man draw back, my soul
shall have no i>leasure in him. But we are not of them who draw
back unto perdition ; but of them that believe to the saving of the
soul.' Wherefore, ' hearken, 0 daughter, and consider and incline
thine ear ; forget also thine own people, and thy Father's house,'
Psal. xlv. 10.
3. Mix not again with the world lying in wickedness, but carry
yourselves as a separate company, under a now covenant, and a new
head, Acts ii. 40. ' Save yourselves from this untoward generation.'
If yc are really brought into the covenant, yc are come out from
among them : shew that it is so, by your keeping at a distance from
them. The grace of the covenant secures it as to all true believers,
Psal. xii. 7. And,
370 OP THE COVENANT OF GKACE.
(1.) Cliuso not thoir company, Psal. xxvi. 4, 5. It is dangerous
as a pest-house, 1 Cor. xv. 34. Many of the truly godly have been
wounded in their soul and conscience deeply thereby ; witness Peter
in the high priest's hall. Many who have had very fair appear-
ances once a-day, have been ruined by ill company, Prov. xiii. 20.
' A Companion of fools shall be destroyed.' There is no eviting it
altogether in this life, 1 Cor. v. 10. But take heed ye have God's
call, and then may ye expect the divine protection. "Why will ye
chuse their company ? they are not going your way.
(2.) Conform not to their way, Rom. xii. 2. Yo have declared
yourselves of a different, yea, a contrary society ; why then will ye
do as they do ? To walk according to the course of this world,
speaks one to be a child of wrath, not a child of the covenant.
Being come into the covenant, your privilege is beyond others : it is
expected then that ye should do more than others, who have not
your privilege, Matth. v. 47. The privilege is very singular, ye
must then be singular in your walk, in comparison of the world
lying in wickedness, though you should be wondered at, Zech. iii. 8.
1 Pet. i. 4.
4. Remember that ye are no more your own, but the Lord's by
covenant, 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20. God has offered his covenant unto you,
ye have entered into it : so ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's.
Let this be an answer to the temptations that ye will meet with ;
say to them, as Jephthah did to his daughter. Judges xi. 35. ' I have
opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.' If others
say, their tongues and themselves are their own, and they have no
Lord over them, ye cannot say it : for if you have come into the co-
venant, ye have said, as Isa. xliv. 5. ' I am the Lord's.' And if you
are his, you must be for him only, wholly, and for ever.
5. Espouse the interests of the covenant, saying, ' Thy kingdom
come ; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,' Matt. vi. 10.
Have common friends and enemies with the God of the covenant,
Psal. xvi. 2, 3. and cxix. 21. Your own interest is in it : and if it
be really so, the interest of Christ's kingdom in the world will be
yours, and ye will fight against the devil, the world, and the flesh,
as the adversai-ies of the covenant. They are very low in the world
at this day, and in this island; though the nation is under the bond
of solemn covenants to God, that bond is little regarded, backslid-
ings are multiplied, and the generation is dealing treacherously with
a witness. If ye have embraced the covenant of grace for your own
souls, it will natively produce a well tempered concern for the cove-
nanted reformation of yourselves and the laud.
6. Pursue earnestlv the ends of the covenant. These are the de-
(i'p THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 371
struction of sin, and tlie service of the Lord, Lulcc i, 74. Christ
came 'to destroy the works of the devil;' hold to this eud of the
covenant in yourselves and others. Study mortification of your
own lusts in the first place : labour to break the power of sin in
others, according as ye have opportunity, and to weaken Satan's
interest in the place wherein you live. Serve the Lord diligently in
the duties of inward worship, aud in the duties of morality, first and
second table duties : and as we have access, stir up one another
thereto.
7. Lcistly, In all ye do, act as under the influence of this cove-
nant, and not of the covenant of works. Be evangelical in all your
duties, and the whole strain of your conversation. The covenant is
a covenant of grace : let the grace, mercy, and love of the covenant,
bo your great motives to obedience, 2 Cor. v. 14. To pretend to
embrace the covenant of grace, and in the mean time to serve the
Lord as bondmen, just for fear of punishment and hope of reward,
is to run back to the old covenant.
More particularly, walk worthy,
1. Of the parties in the covenant, Col. i. 10. ' Walk worthy of the
Lord unto all pleasing.' The confederates in the covenant of grace,
which ye are taken into, arc the most glorious aud honourable par-
ties that ever entered into a covenant together ; even God aud his
own Son the second Adam, under whom believers come in as mem-
bers under the head. View the glory and majesty of these parties,
the infinite wisdom, love, aud grace to poor sinners, wherewith this
transaction was managed from eternity ; and consider yourselves as
taken into the same covenant with them, and ye must see that ye
have need to take heed to walk worthy of such confederates. And,
\st, Gratitude obliges to this. Should not the poor sinful crea-
ture, considering itself taken into the commuuion of God and his
Son's covenant, look on himself as highly honoured, beyond what-
ever he could have expected ? 1 John i. 3. and ought he not there-
upon to be careful to walk worthy of that honourable society? to
carry as becomes that honourable character ?
^dhj, The unsuitable walking of those taken into the covenant re-
flects dishonour on the glorious parties into whose covenant he is
taken, Rom. ii. 24. While men give up their names to Christ, and
yet walk in the way of sin, they bring up an ill report on the ways
of God, and cause the graceless world to blaspheme the glorious
name. Then,
(1.) Study to walk so as to ' be followers of God,' Eph. v. 1. La-
bour to imitate him in all his imitable perfections. lie is your God,
aud ye arc his people, if ye are really within the covenant ; and
372 OP THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
surely a people will strive to conform to the nature and will of their
God. Be compassionate and merciful to those in misery, ready to
do good to all as ye have access, yea even to your very enemies : so
shall ye prove yourselves children of the God of the covenant, Matt.
V. 44, 45.
(2.) Conform yourselves to the example of the Head of the cove-
nant. They to whom Christ's death brings salvation, will follow
the example he left us in his life, 1 John ii. 6. ' He hath left us an
example that we should follow his steps.' lie has writ a fair copy
of a life for our imitation, John xiii. 15. and will have his people
learn of him. Mat. xi. 29. We are apt to follow examples in things
suited to our nature. Christ's example is every whit perfect, and
no other is so : and what example should have more influence on the
members than that of the Head ?
(3.) Labour to maintain actual communion and fellowship with
God in Christ, Cant. iii. 5. The covenant puts men in a state of
communion with God, 1 John i. 3. That is a great privilege, but
ofttimes much misimproved by God's own children, who fall secure
and indisiiosed for converse with God, Cant. v. 3. ; grieve the Spirit,
and so provoke him to depart ; regard some iniquity in their heart,
and so mar the course of influences, and their own access to God.
(4.) Be heavenly in your frame and walk, Phil. iii. 20. God is
in lieaven, your head Christ is in heaven, and your treasure is there :
why should not your heart be there too ? The due frame of a com-
municant, that has taken hold of the covenant is set down. Cant. iii.
6. ' Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of
smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, and all powders of
the merchant !' And it is sad to see those who are in the covenant
grovelling among the dust of this earth, like those that are without ;
to see the heavenly seed like the seed of the serpent. Set your af-
fections then on things above, and not on things on the earth.
Lastly, Let it be your greatest care to please God, to give content
to the heart of Christ, Col. i. 10. It should be your great question,
' What shall I render to the Lord V Let the love of the Father
and the Son influence you to this manner of walking. And let
God's displeasure be to you the most horrible thing, that you would
rather venture on the displeasure of the whole world than his.
2. Walk answerable to the parts of the covenant. And,
\st, To the condition of the covenant performed by Jesus Christ,
viz. his fulfilling all righteousness, in his being born holy, living
holy, satisfying justice by his death and suiferings, to procure you
the promises of the covenant. And,
(1.) Let the stress of your acceptance with God all along lie upon
OF THE COVENANT OF OUACE, 373
that, and that only, Phil. iii. 3. Whatever you look to obtain from
God, whether for time or eternity, let all your confidence for it bo
laid on that ground only. Whatever you go to seek from God,
whatever sacrifice you offer to God, or do for him, let it be laid on
that altar, as ever ye would have it accepted, Col. iii. 17. It is not
only when our duties are ill performed, but when they are best
done, that wo must place our confidence here : for our best duties
will otherwise bo unacceptable.
(2.) Walk humbly as debtors to free grace, 1 Tim. i. 15. Look
to the rock whence ye are hewn, and the hole of the pit whence ye
were dug. See Ezek. xvi. Remember, whatever be your attain-
ments, gifts, or graces, ye are decked with borrowed feathers : be
not proud of them. The condition on which any promise is per-
formed to you, you could uever perform : the price of the least
mercy you could not pay. Only Jesus Christ has set up the poor
bankrupt again.
(3.) Walk in love, Eph. v. 2. ' Walk in love' to God in Jesus
Christ. This is the fulfilling of the law : and there is the greatest
reason for it, both for what he is in himself, and what he is to us.
One flame is fit to kindle another. Such love was never seen among
creatures, as God has shewn to man ; and shall it not inflame our
hearts ? Walk in love to one another, and in love to mankind.
(4.) Walk thankfully. The whole life of a Christian should be a
life of thankfulness, ,1 Pet. ii. 9. Eternal life is won by Christ's
fulfilling the condition of the covenant ; it is received in the first-
fruits of it, and possessed in Christ the head, by faith. What then
remains but to express our thankfulness in a well-ordered life, for
the unspeakable free gift ?
2dly, To the promises of the covenant ; they are ' great and pre-
cious,' 2 Pet. i. 4. Happy are they that have them for their secu-
rity, and all that are within the covenant have them so.
(1.) Live upon them, let your souls feed on them, and acconnt
them the great stock ye have to trust to, Psal. cxix. 162. This
must be done by believing them, and that with application. How-
ever little you have in hand, ye have a full covenant of promises,
which are Heaven's bills and bonds, that make a good stock. And
so reckon, that though ye have nothing, yet ye possess all things,
viz. in Christ ; ye have them in the promise, Col. ii. 10. ' Ye are
complete in him.
(2.) Resolutely set about every duty in the faith of the j)romise.
It will be too hardy to venture on the least without it : and the
hardest and most dilficult may be ventured on with it, 2 Tim. ii. 1.
God calls his people to no duty, but what the covenant has furniture
374 OF THE COVENANT OP GRACE.
for in the promise. And in the faith of it the weak is made strong,
and without it the proud helpers stoop.
(3.) Resist tc7nptations in the faith of the promise. The least of
them is able to lay us by, if the Lord do not stand by us : the shock
of the most violent of them may be endured, and one come off safe,
if encountered in the faith of the promise, Eph. vi. 16. It is the
promise in the hand of faith that keeps the tempted safe, and makes
his resistance successful.
(4.) Bear crosses, trials, and afflictions in the faith of the promise,
Psal. xxvii. 13. There is no getting forward to heaven, but by the
way of the cross : these deep waters must needs be swimmed
througli ; but the faith of the promise will bear up the head, and
keep from sinking. It will bring in comfort from the covenant,
when other streams are dried.
Lastly, Die in the faith of the promise, Heb. xi. 13. That is the
last battle to be fought : and then the time draws near of the full
accomplishment of the promise to the Lord's people ; and that is a
special season of exercising faith on the promises.
3(iZ//, and lastly, "Walk suitably to the administration of the cove-
nant, which is a most happy one, as being lodged by the Father in
Christ's hand. And,
(1.) Go to Christ for all you need. To whom should we go but
to him, since he is Administrator of the covenant, and all is in his
hand ? "Whether you need light, life, strength, or whatsoever is
necessary for time or eternity, go to him for it. .
(2.) Be obedient to his laws, the laws of the covenant. If he ad-
ministers the covenant effectually to your salvation, he is your King
and Lord, and ye must receive the law at his mouth, Psal. cxix. 6.
(3.) Submit to the discipline of the covenant. If ye meet with
crosses, afflictions, and trials, take them kindly, blessing Grod that
they are not curses, effects of revenging wrath.
(4.) Believe that all ye meet with is well ordered. It is so, for
it is the product of the wisdom of the great Administrator of the
covenant.
(5.) Lastly, Do your enHeavour amongst all, as ye have access, to
advance the covenant ; that those who are without, may be brought
in ; and that those who are within, may be edified. For Christ is
to administer the covenant to whosoever of mankind sinners will re-
ceive it.
Thus, by the mercy of God, I have treated fully of the covenant
of grace, and laid before you the principal things relating to it ;
having formerly treated of the covenant of works. In the first co-
venant, see your misery ; in this see the remedy, and apply it by
I
OF CHRIST THE ONLY REDEEMER. 375
believing. You have here had the mystery of salvation by Christ
opened up at large. May the Lord himself open your understand-
ings to understand it, and your hearts to receive it ; and save you
from slighting it : for so it will be a witness against you.
OF CHRIST THE ONLY REDEEMER OF GOD'S ELECT,
Gal, iv, 4, 5. — WJien the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his
Son made of a luoman, made under the law, to redeem them that luere
under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
We are now to speak of the Mediator of the new covenant, Jesus
Christ, and to consider our Redeemer in his person, offices, and
states. As to the first of these, it is plainly taught in the text.
In the former chapter, and in the first part of this, the apostle in-
sists upon the church's freedom from the Mosaic dispensation, which
was a very toilsome and burdensome service. This he illustrates by
the similitude of a pupil and his tutors, ver, 1, 2, and then he ap-
plies it in the following verse, (1.) To the church's bondage under
the Old Testament dispensation, when she was in her infant state,
kept in subjection under that rigid and strict administration, which
served for a rudiment, whereby she was instructed for the most part
by resemblances taken from earthly things. (2.) To her freedom
from that bondage under the New Testament, in the words of our
text. Where we have,
1. The season in which this freedom or redemption was brought
about : When the fulness of the time was come, says the apostle, God
wrought this deliverance for his people in the time that he had
pitched and resolved upon, as the most fit and proper time for it.
2. "We have the means of this deliverance, namely Christ's incar-
nation, and manifestation in the flesh ; God sent forth his oivn Son,
made of a woman. Hq sent his own Son into the world, the second
person of the glorious and adorable Trinity, who was incarnate in a
miraculous way, being conceived in the womb of a virgin, without
the company of a man.
3. We have the condition in which Christ came ; made under the
law. Being made flesh, he subjected himself both to the precepts
and to the curse of the law. He fulfilled all righteousness, and gave
complete satisfaction to all the demands of the law in the holiness
and integrity of his life, and he bore the punishment threatened for
sin, in the bloody and cruel sufferings which he endured in his death.
376 OP CHRIST TTTE ONLY REDEEMEK.
4. The freedom and deliverance itself : God sent forth his So^i, tlins
qualified, to redeem them that were under the laiu ; that is, to' free all
the elect from the curse and punishment that was due to them for
the transgression of it. Hence it is said, Gal. iii. 13. * Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.'
lie freed the whole church from that rigour and servitude under
which she was as to her outward state. And hereby also was pro-
cured to believers the adoption of sons : by which we are to under-
stand, not only the benefit of adoption itself, which was the privilege
of believers under the Old Testament as well as now under the New,
but also and chiefly a clearer manifestation of that privilege, and a
more free use and fruition of it. They have now a more full and
plentiful measure of the Spirit than believers had under the Old
Testament dispensation.
The*doctrine arising from the text is,
DocT. ' The only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus
Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was,
and continueth to be, God and man, in two distinct natures, and one
person, for ever.'
In discoursing from this doctrine, I shall,
I. Shew that the only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus
Christ.
IL Illustrate this grand truth, that Jesus Christ, being the
eternal Son of God, became man.
III. Prove that Christ is God and man, in two distinct natures,
and one person.
IV. Deduce some inferences.
I. I am to shew, that the only Redeemer of God's elect is the
Lord Jesus Christ.
First, Let us consider the titles and names of our Redeemer.
1. He is called Lord, because of his absolute and universal sove-
reignty and dominion over all the creatures. ' He is Lord of all,'
says the apostle. Acts x. 36. His dominion extcndeth to all things
in heaven, earth, and hell ; ' He hath prepared his throne in the
heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all,' Psal. ciii. 19. He is the
sole monarch of the whole world, and all the princes and potentates
in the earth are but his deputies and vicegerents. He is 'the
blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords,'
as the apostle justly styles him, 1 Tim. vi. 15. He hath a natural
and essential right and authority over all things as he is God, equal
with the Father ; and he hath a delegated authority as Mediator.
The government belongs to him originally as God, and derivatively
as God-mau, Mediator. He holds his crown by immediate tenure
OP CinUST THE ONLY REDEEMER. 377
from Heaven. FTe is declared to be King by the decree and ap-
pointment of the Father, Psal. ii. 6. God hath invested him with a
royal authority over all the creatures. It is said, that ' he hath put
all things under his feet, and given him to be the Head over all
things to the church,' Eph. i. 22. He rules from sea to sea, and to
the ends of the earth, yea, to the utmost bounds of God's creation.
All the creatures are subject to his dominion, rational and ir-
rational, animate and inanimate, angels, devils, men, seas, storms
and tempests, all obey him. But in a special manner he is King in
Zion; he reigns and rules in the church, and sways his royal sceptre
there. He is Lord of all the creatures by creation, of the elect by
redemption, and of believers by their voluntary resignation and sur-
render of themselves unto him.
2. He is called Jesus, because he is the Saviour of the elect
world, and delivers them from sin and wrath. This was declared
by an angel to the virgin Mary before his conception in her womb,
Luke i. 31. 'Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring
forth a Son, and shalt call his name Jesus.' This was revealed to
Joseph in a dream, Matth. i. 21. The name Jesus is there inter-
preted to signify a Saviour ; and the angel of the Lord, a messenger
sent from God, is the expositor. Christ was sent by his Father to
be the Saviour of the elect. Now, a Saviour in the proper significa-
tion of the word, is one that delivereth from evil. Accordingly
Christ not only saves his i^eople from the worst of evils, but bestows
upon them the greatest of good. He delivers them from the guilt,
stain, and dominion of sin, the wrath of God, the malediction and
accusations of the law, and eternal death and misery ; and he gives
them grace and righteousness, eternal life and glory. He is a
Saviour to protect and defend, and a Saviour to bless and save
them, Psal. Ixxxiv. 11. He is the only Saviour of lost sinners, and
there is no salvation but through him. Acts iv. 12.
3. He is called Christ, because he was anointed unto his office by
the Father. This title very fitly followeth the former. Jesus im-
plies his oflice in general, and Christ his designation or ordination
to his office. He is an anointed Saviour. This is frequently ex-
pressed in the scripture, Psal. xlv. 7- ' God, thy God hath anointed
thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.' Isa. Ixi. 1. 'The
Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek,' &c.
Acts X. 38. ' God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost,
and with power.' From all which places we see, that Christ's
anointing is not to be understood literally, but by a trope and figure,
the sign being put for the thing signified. Several persons were
anointed of old, as wrestlers among the Gentiles ; which may be ap-
378 OP CURIST THE ONLY REDEEMER.
plied to Christ, who was to conflict and wrestle with all the powers
of hell and tlie world, with all the oppositions and difflculties that
were in the way of man's salvation. But this term of anointing is
rather taken from the customs of the ceremonial law. There were
three sorts of persons commonly anointed among the Jews ; as
kings. Thus Saul, David, Solomon, &c. Were anointed with mate-
rial oil ; and hence were called the Lord's anointed. — Priests. All
the priests that ministered in the tabernacle or temple were an-
ointed, and chiefly the high priest, who was a special figure and
type of Christ. — The prophets. Hence God gave Elijah a commis-
sion to go and anoint Elisha to be prophet in his room, 1 Kings xix.
16. As oil strengthened and suppled the joints, and made them
agile and fit for exercise, so it denoted a designation and fitness in
a person for the function to which he was appointed. Thus Christ,
because he was not to be a typical Prophet, Priest, or King, was
not typically, but sj)iritually anointed ; not with a sacramental, but
real unction ; not of men, but immediately of God. There are two
things implied in the anointing of Christ.
(1.) It implies the Father's fitting and furnishing him with all
things necessary, that he might be a complete Redeemer to his peo-
ple. As God gave him a body and human nature, that he might be
capable to sufl'er ; so he filled and replenished his soul with all the
gifts and graces of his Spirit. Hence it was promised of old con-
cerning him, ' that the Spirit of the Lord should rest upon him, the
Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.' The Psalmist
tells us, that he was ' fairer than the sons of men, and grace was
poured into his lips.' He, ' received not the Spirit by measure,' but
was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. All this
■was the Father's work, and therefore he saith, ' Behold my servant
whom I ui)hold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth,' Isa. xlii. 1.
(2.) It implies the Father's giving him a commission to redeem
poor sinner's from hell and wrath. He was invested with a fulness
of authority and power for this very end. And therefore in scrip-
ture he is said to be sealed, as having his commission under the
great seal of Heaven. Hence he says, Isa. Ixi. 1. ' The Spirit of the
Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me,' <S:c.
Every thing that Christ did in bringing about the redemption of an
elect world, was given him in commission. His coming to the w^orld
in the fulness of time was by the order and appointment of the Fa-
ther. So he shews, John viii. 42. 'I proceeded forth and came from
God ; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.' The business on
which he came was determined by Heaven. So in the text it is said.
OP CHRIST THE ONLY REDEEMER. 379
God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, to redeem them that xverc un-
der the Imu, &c. His deatli and bloody sufferings, which were the
price of man's redemption, and the ransom of their souls, were en-
joined by the Father. Hence says he, John x. 18. ' This command-
ment, (viz. relating to laying down liis life,) liave I received of my
Father.'
Secondly, We may consider his office and work in the general.
He is called the Mediator, which properly signifies a raidsman, that
travels betwixt two persons who are at variance to reconcile them.
Now, Christ is Mediator, (1.) Tn respect of his person, being a
middle person betAvixt God and man, participating of both natures.
(2.) In respect of his office ; being a middle person dealing betwixt
God and man, in the offices of a Prophet, Priest, and King. Which
will be more particularly illustrated in the sequel.
He is the Redeemer. To redeem is to buy a thing again, as the
nearest a-kin was to buy again the mortgaged land, and so to rescue
and deliver from poverty, and misery, and boudage. This is the
import of the word in the original. The elect are the redeemed : it
is all they, and they only, as was proved before.
This redemption imports, (1.) That the elect were first the Lord's
by creation, his property, and bound to serve and obey him. (2.)
That they were sold, and in a state of bondage, in their natural con-
dition, slaves to sin and Satan, the captives of the mighty ; prison-
ers to the law, and obnoxious to the justice of God. (3.) That they
are recovered or redeemed from this state of vassalage, captivity
and slavery, by the Lord Jesus Christ. And they are redeemed by
him two ways.
1. By price or purchase, laying down his life a ransom for them.
He came to ' give his life a ransom for many,' Mattli. xx. 28 ; that
is to die in the stead of his people. His life intervened as a price
to obtain their redemption. Hence is that note in the song of the
redeemed, Rev. v. 9. ' Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God
by thy blood.' They were fallen under the dominion of Satan, and
liable to eternal death, and could not obtain their liberty by escape,
or by mere force and power ; for they were arrested and detained
prisoners by order of divine justice : so that till God the Supreme
Judge was satisfied, there could bo no discharge. Kow, the Lord
Jesus Christ hath procured their deliverance by his death and
bloody sufferings. Hence the apostle says. Col. i. 14. ' We have
redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.' No
less than the precious blood of Christ, who was God and man in one
person, could be a sufficient price for the redemption of poor captive
sinners.
2 15 2
380 OP CHRIST THE ONLY HEDEEMER.
2. By power and conquest. By his death on the cross he spoiled
principalities and powers. And he manifested this power in his
ascension ; for when he ascended up on high, he led captivity cap-
tive. And in the day of power he redeems his people from the sla-
very of sin and Satan, the curse of the law, from the sting of death,
and the wrath of God ; and puts them in possession of a full sal-
vation.
The former, A'iz. redeeming by price or purchase, Christ doth as a
Priest, the latter as a Prophet and King. Both were absolutely
necessary : for without a ransom justice would not quit us nor let us
go : and without overcoming or conquering power, the elect, while
slaves to sin and Satan, will not quit their master, nor accept of
liberty.
This redemption of elect souls was agreed upon by the Father
and the Son in the covenant of grace from eternity. It was first
proclaimed to fallen man in the first promise. Gen. iii. 15. that ' the
seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent ;' it was
shadowed forth under the Old Testament by sacrifices, burnt-offer-
ings, &c ; the i>rice was actually paid on the cross, when he ' made
peace through the blood thereof,' Col. i. 20 ; and the powerful deli-
very is made in the conversion of the elect, the day of God's power,
when the captives are delivered, their chains knocked off, and they
are rescued from the miserable bondage in which they lay. And
although Christ's blood was not actually shed under the Old Testa-
ment, yet the elect, during that dispensation, were delivered by the
same redemption which we are now partakers of, Heb. xi. 39, 40.
Thirdly, That Jesus Christ, and he only, is the Redeemer pro-
mised as the true Messiah, is evident, in that all the things that are
the marks and characters of the Redeemer agree to him, and him
only. He was to be of the tribe of Judah, and of the house of Da-
vid, to be born of a virgin, to be Immanuel, God with us, God in
our nature and on our side, to be born in Bethlehem, to make a
mean appearance, to be despised and rejected of men, to be crucified
on an accursed tree, to be buried in a grave, to rise again the third
day, to ascend into heaven, and sit at the right hand of God, till his
enemies be made his footstool. It is evident from comparing the
Old Testament with the New, that all these characters agree to Je-
sus Christ, and him only ; and none other but one who possessed
these characters could be our Redeemer,
II. Our next business is to illustrate this grand truth. That Jesus
Christ, being the eternal Son of God, became man.
First, Christ is the eternal Son of God. And in this he differs
from all God's other sons.
OF CHRIST THE ONLY REDEEMER. 381
1. From angels, wlio are called ' the sons of God,' Job xxxviii. 7.
They were filled with joy, and shonted with a triumphant voice,
when they saw the power, wisdom, and goodness of God, appearing
so illustriously in the work of creation, when God laid the founda-
tions of the earth. Now, the angels are called the sons of God.
(1.) Because they had their whole being from him. They are his
sons by creation ; in which sense also Adam is called ' the son of
God,' Luke iii. 38.
(2.) Because of their great and mighty power. Hence they are
styled, principality, and power, and might, and dominion,' Eph. i.
21. They are like him in power and dignity.
(3.) Because they serve him as sons, cheerfully, willingly, and
readily. They do not obey as slaves, or servants, or the best of
servants ; but they obey as children. They go his errands with a
filial cheerfulness and delight. ' A son honoureth his father,' saith
the Lord. It should be the temper and disposition of every son to
do so. This is not only the disposition of angels, but they have
actually done it, and may say unto God, as the elder brother is
brought in saying in the parable, Luke xv. ' Lo these many years
have we been with thee,' even ever since the creation of the world,
* and have never transgressed nor neglected thy commandments at
any time.'
(4.) Because of the great privileges which God bestows upon
them. He uses them as his sons and children. They are his cour-
tiers, and near to his person, and always surround his throne, and
behold his face. They are continually under the meridian beams of
his ravishing and life-giving countenance.
(5.) Because of their likeness to God in essence. He is a spirit,
an incorporeal and immaterial being, and angels are spiritual and
incorporeal substances. Though the difference between God and
them be as great as can be conceived, yea truly inconceivable ; God
being the creating spirit, and they created spirits ; God being an in-
finite spirit, and they but finite ones ; yet the angels bear a resem-
blance to God in their essence, as well as in their qualifications, and
may upon that account also be called the sons of God : but they are
only the sons of God by creation : Whereas Christ is his Son by an
eternal and ineffable generation. Christ alone is the Son of God by
nature.
2. Believers are called the sons of God, John i. 12. And they
are so by adoption and regeneration, 2 Cor. vi. 17, 18. Believers
dift'er from the angels in this; for they do not stand in need of rege-
neration, or any gracious change to be wrought in them: for as they
were created holy and pure beings, so they have continued in that
2b3
382 OF CIIUIST THE ONLY UEDEEMEK.
Hitegrity and holiness with Avliicli tliey were made, and have not
lost it : and tliereforo Christ is no licdeemor to them.
3. Christ dillcrs both from angels and saints in this, tliat he is
the eternal and only-hcgotten Son of God, as the scripture verifies,
Matth. iii. 17- and xvii. 5.
Now, that tlie Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, is the eternal
Son of God, or was begotten of the Father from all eternity, is clear
from the holy scriptures ; for to divine revelation alone are we in-
debted for the knowledge of this important truth. To this end let
us consider, Psal. ii. 7- ' Thou art ray Son, this day have I begotten
thee.' This passage is applied to Christ in several places of the
New Testament. The word, ' this day,' doth not denote a certain
time when this generation began, but is used to express the eternity
thereof. And that which is eternal is expressed by that term, to
shew and hold forth unto us, that all things past and to come are
present Avith God in regard of liis eternity. There is no succession
in eternity, no yesterday nor to-morrow ; but it is all as one con-
tinued day or moment, without any succession or change. Tliere-
foi'e the generation of the Son being eternal, it is rightly designed
by this term. And although in tliis and the following verses we
have a declaration of God's decree and appointment concerning the
advancement of Christ to his Mediatory throne and kingdom ; yet in
this verse, the generation of the Son is not mentioned as a part of
that decree, but only as the ground and foundation thereof. For
unless Christ had been the Son of God by eternal generation, he
could not have been our Mediator and Redeemer ; nor could he have
obtained a throne and kingdom as such. And this eternal genera-
tion of the Son was solemnly declared by his resurrection from the
dead. This is the apostle's scope when he says, ' We declare unto
you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the
fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that
he hath raised up Jesus again ; as it is also written in the second
psalm, ' Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee,' Acts xiii.
32, 33. He might well say, this scripture, Psal. ii. 7. was fulfilled
by raising Christ from the dead, because by his resurrection the
truth of it was openly proclaimed and declared to the world, as the
same apostle tells us, Rom. i. 4.
We may argue for this likewise from Micah v. 2. ' But thou,
Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among tlie thousands of
Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto mc, that is to be
ruler in Israel : whose goings forth have been from of old, from
everlasting.' This text is applied to Christ, Matth. ii. 6 ; and that
it must be understood of him, and of no other, is plain, because he
OP CURIST THE ONLY REDEEMER. 383
is promised as the King and Ruler of his church : and in the fol-
lowing A'erses there is ascribed unto him the calling of the Gentiles,
invincible power and majesty in his providential dispensations, doc-
trine, and miracles, and an universal kingdom and government over
Jews and Gentiles through the earth. Now, there is a twofold
going forth hero attributed to him. The first is external and
visible, namely, his going forth from the city of Bethlehem, by
being born of a virgin. This is a temporal generation, and is there-
fore spoken of as a thing to come, * He shall come forth unto me.'
But lest any should look on him as a mere man, and as one that be-
gan to be at his incarnation, therefore a second going forth is men-
tioned, which is internal and eternal : ' Whose goings forth have
been from of old, from everlasting,' or ' from the days of eternity,'
as it is in the original text. These words design his eternal genera-
tion, as being begotten of the Father from all eternity ; for he could
not go forth from the Father from everlasting but by generation.
This truth is further clear from Christ's being called the Son of
God. He is often so designed in scripture. The Father did so-
lemnly proclaim him to be so by an audible voice from heaven, both
at his baptism and his transfiguration. He is the Son of God in a
most proper and singular manner, viz. by the Father's communi-
cating the divine essence to him by eternal generation. This name
given to Christ is more excellent than any name given to the angels,
though they are also called the sons of God, Heb. i. 4, 5. ' For unto
which of the angels said he at any time. Thou art my son, this day
have I begotten thee ?' He is so the Son of God, as on that account
he is equal with the Father. Therefore, when he told the Jews,
* My Father worketh hitherto, and I work,' it is said, ' The Jews
sought the more to kill him, because he said that God was his
Father, making himself equal with God,' John v. 17, 18. The Jews
concluded from what he had said, that ho made himself equal with
God. And their conclusion was very just : for he did not find fault
with them for so doing, nor charge them witli reproaching him ; nor
doth he clear any mistake about it, as certainly he would have done,
if they had been in any. Therefore what they conclude from his
discourse is plainly asserted by the apostle, Phil. ii. 6. in these
words, ' He thought it not robbery to be equal with God.' So that
Christ's scope and design, John v. is plainly to shew, that he was
the Son of God in such a manner, that he was the same in sub-
stance with the Father, and equal with him in dignity and glory.
And as to the nature of this generation, our blessed Lord himself
doth in some measure explain it to us, so far as we arc capable to
apprehend this great mystery, when he tells us, John. v. 26. * As
384 OP CHRIST THE ONLY REDEEMER.
the Father hath life in himself, so hath he f^iven to tlie Son to heave
life in himself.' So that to beget the Son, is to give to the Son to
have life in himself, as the Father hatli life in himself ; which doth
necessarily import a communication of the same individual essence.
For to have life in himself was an essential attribute of God ; i. e.
to have life independently, of and from himself; and to be the
source and fountain of life to all the creatures, is a perfection pro-
per to God, inseparable from his nature, yea, the very same with
his essence. And therefore the Father cannot give it, unless he
give the essence itself: and he cannot give the essence by way of
alienation, for then he himself would cease to be God ; nor by way
of participation, seeing the divine nature is one, and cannot be
divided. Therefore it must be by way of communication. So that
the generation of the Sou is that eternal action of the Father,
whereby he did communicate to the Son the same individual essence
which he himself hatli, that the Son might have it equal with him-
self. But as to the manner of this generation, or communication of
the divine essence of the Son, it is altogether ineffable and incon-
ceivable to us. It is simply impossible for poor weak worms, such
as we are, to understand or explain wherein it consists. It is not
natural, but supernatural, and wholly divine, and therefore incom-
prehensible by us. Yea, it is incomprehensible even by the angels
themselves, who far exceed men in intellectual abilities. We may
justly hereunto apply what we have, Isa. liii. 8. ' Who shall declare
his generation ?' This whole mystery is incomprehensible by us :
Ave ought humbly and reverently to adore what we cannot compre-
hend. There is a coummunication of the whole essence or Godhead
from the Father to the Son, in receiving whereof the Son doth no
more lessen or diminish the majesty or Godhead of the Father, than
the light of one candle doth the light of another from which it is
taken. Whereupon the council of Nice said well, that Christ is
God of God, light of light, very God of very God, not proceeding
but begotten. Hence it is clear, that he had a being before he was
born of a virgin, yea from eternity ; and that he is the true God,
and the most high God, equal with the Father, Phil. ii. 6. John i.
1. ; for no being can be eternal but God.
Secondly, The Son of God became man. It was not the Father,
nor the Holy Ghost, that was incarnate, but the Son, John i. 1-4.
' The word was made flesh.' He was ' God manifested in the flesh,'
1 Tim. iii. 16. But though he was from eternity God, yet the world
had lasted well nigli four thousand years ere he became man.
Thirdly, Why did it behove Christ, in order to be our Redeemer,
to be God and man ? he could not be our Redeemer, if he had not
been both.
OF CHRIST THE ONLY KEDEEMEK. 385
1. He behoved to be God, (1.) That he might be able to bear the
weight of the infinite wrath of (iod due to the elect's sins, and come
out from under that heavy load, Acts ii. 24. (2.) That his tempo-
rary sufferings might be of infinite value, and afford full satisfaction
to the law and justice of God, Heb. ix. 14. In these respects none
other but one who was God could redeem us.
2. He behoved to be man, (1.) That he might be capable to suffer
death, Heb. ii. 14. (2.) Tliat the same nature which sinned might
suffer, Ezek. xviii. 4. ' The soul that sinneth, it shall die.' (3.)
That he might be a merciful High Priest, Heb. ii. 16, 17- and that
we might have comfort and boldness of access to the throne of grace
having an High Priest of our own nature as our Intercessor there.
III. I come now to prove, that Christ is God and man, in two
distinct natures, and one person. Christ is God and man by a per-
sonal union of two natures. The two natures in Christ remain dis-
tinct : the Godhead was not changed into the manhood, nor the
manhood into the Godhead : for the scripture speaks of these as
distinct, Rom. i. 3. 1 Pet. iii. 18. Heb. ix. 14.; and of two wills
in Christ, a human and a divine, Luke xxii. 42. These natures re-
main still with their distinct properties, that as the divine nature
is not made finite, so neither is the human nature adorned with the
divine attributes. It is not omnipotent, 2 Cor. xiii. 4. ; nor omni-
present, John xi. 15 ; nor omniscient, Mark xiii. 22. &c. Yet are
they not divided ; nor is Christ two persons, but one ; even as our
soul and body though distinct things, make but one person. This
is clear from the text, which shews that the Son of God was made
of a woman ; which seeing it cannot be understood of his divine na-
ture, but of the human, it is plain that both natures make but one
person. And elsewhere he is described as one person consisting of
two natures, Rom. i. 3. and ix. 5. And it was necessary that the
natures should be distinct ; because otherwise, either the Divinity
would have advanced his humanity above the capacity of suttering,
or his humanity depressed his Divinity below the capacity of merit-
ing. And it was necessary that he should be one person ; because
otherwise his blood had not been the blood of God, Acts xx. 28. nor
of the Son of God, 1 .lohn i. 7- and so not of infinite value. "Where-
fore Christ took on him the human nature, but not a human person.
Lastly, Christ was, and so will continue God and man for ever.
This union never was dissolved. He died in our flesh to save us ;
he rose again iu it, and ascended to heaven iu it, and will continue
over in it, Heb. vii. 24. It will be a part of the happiness of the
saints after the resurrection, that they shall feed their eyes for ever
in beholding the glorified body of the blessed Redeemer.
386 OF CURIST THE ONLY I5EDEEMKR.
I shall finish this subject with a few inferences.
1. The redemption of the soul is precious. The salvation of sin-
ners was a work greater tlian the making of the world. The pow-
erful word commanded, and the universe sprung up into being ; but
much more was to be done ero a sinner could be saved from wrath.
The eternal Son of God must become man, lay asi<le the robes of his
glory, and clothe himself with the infirmities of human nature, and
in that nature purchase redemption by the price of his matchless
blood for poor miserable prisoners, and deliver them from the pit of
hell and wrath by an exertion of his almighty power.
2. See here the wonderful love and grace of God in sending his
own Son to be the Redeemer of sinful men. It was he tliat con-
trived this method of redemption, in the adorable depths of his infi-
nite wisdom. He pitched upon his own Son as the only fit person
to set miserable captives free. He fitted and furnished him for this
work, and sent him to the world with full power and authority to
go about it. It was God the Father that was gracious to sinners,
saying, * Deliver them from going down to the pit, I have found a
ransom.' What an illustrious display of the astonishing love and
grace of God is it, that he should have remembered them in their
low estate, and laid help on one that is mighty to save them. To
enlarge upon this a little further, 1 off"er a twofold consideration.
(1.) Who he was that was sent and came into the world to re-
deem the elect ; not an angel or archangel, nor any of the glorious
seraphims that stand about God's throne. Indeed, if it had been so,
divine love, even in this, had infinitely advanced itself, that God
should be pleased to spare one of his own retinue from attending on
him, and give such a glorious servant as an angel is, for the re-
demption of such a rebellious and miserable worm as man. But 0 !
how may it raise and heighten our admiration, Avhen we consider
that it was not an angel, if he had been capable for the mighty task,
but the Lord of angels, not a servant but a Son, that the Father
plucked from his own bosom, and sent upon this business ! He
spoke to him as it were to this purpose. 'Go haste thee down to the
earth : for there are thousands of miserable creatures sinning them-
selves down to hell, and must for ever fall under the strokes of my
dreadful and incensed justice; step thou in between them and it,
and i-eceive the blows thyself ; die thou under the hand of vindic-
tive justice ; that they may be saved and live.' When God tried
Abraham's obedience, he aggravates his command by many piercing
words, which must needs tenderly touch, and greatly afiect, the
heart of a compassionate father, Gen. xxii. 2. ' Take now thy son,
thine only sou Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the laud
OF CHRIST THE ONLY REDEEMER. 387
of Moriali, and offer him there for a burnt-offering,' &c. It greatly-
heightened Abraham's obedience, that notwithstanding of all aggra-
vations, yet he was willing to sacrifice his beloved Son upon God's
command. Just so here God heightens and sets forth his matchless
love towards us. He takes his own Sou, his only Son, the Son of
his eternal delight and love, and cheerfully offers him up as a sacri-
fice for the sins of men. This is the greatest instance of the love of
God that ever was given.
(2.) God's love is exalted here, in that he freely sent his only be-
gotten Son to be the Redeemer of an elect world. He was God's
free gift, or else he could never have been obtained. If devils and
men had joined their forces, and combined all their strength and
power, and thus made an assault upon heaven, yet they could never
have plucked the Son of God's love from his eternal embraces. God
gave Christ freely to redeem a sinful world, not only without, but
against all merit and desert in them, nay, unasked and unsolicited
to do so. From all eternity God foresaw that they would despise
and reject his Son, so that they would shed his precious blood, and
then trample it under their feet, as an unholy thing ; yet such was
the height of his astonishing love, that he bestowed him freely upon
them.
(3.) See the matchless love of the Son of God to poor sinners. It
was love that induced him to substitute himself in their room, and
to undertake to pay their ransom. Ho 'loved me (says Paul), and
gave himself for me,' Gal. ii. 20. His love in this, as the apostle
speaks passeth knowledge. How cheerfully did he engage to make
his soul an offering for sin, that thereby he might pay their ransom !
Though he knew the difficulty of the work, and the greatness of that
wrath which he was to bear, yet he cheerfully complied with the
first motion of it that was made unto him by the Father. He knew
very well, what a vast burden of sin was to be laid upon him, and
the dreadfulness of that wrath he was to undergo ; yet lie did not
slirink from the imputation of the one, nor from the sulFering of the
other. He was willing to be reproached, that we might be glorified;
to become poor, that we might be made rich ; to be accused and
condemned, that we might be justified; to enter into prison, that we
might go free ; and to die a cursed ignominious death, that we might
live, and reign in honour for ever. 0 how great was his love to
poor sinful men !
4. All who live and die out of Christ must perish ; for there is no
other Mediator between God and men but the man Jesus Christ,
who g.ave himself a ransom for sinners, and invites sinners to come
and take the benefit thereof. Now, if men will not come unto him,
388 OP CHRIST THE ONLY REDEEMER.
that they may have life, their blood must be on tlicir own heads.
Christ is the only ordinance of God for life and salvation, and if
men will slight and despise this ordinance, they must perish in their
sins ; for there is no other way of being saved but by him. If sin-
ners will not enter by this door in time, the door of heaven will be
shut against them for ever.
5. How highly is our nature exalted and dignified in the person
of the Lord Jesus ! He took not on hira the nature of angels,
a nature far superior to the human, but the seed of Abraham, and
united it to his divine person. In that nature he performed his
whole Mediatory undertaking, and wears it in his exalted state. It
is corrupt in the multitude of those that partake of it, yet it is pure
and spotless in Christ the Redeemer. Man's nature became so de-
praved and abominable by Adam's transgression, that it could never
again appear before Grod ; but in Christ it is so perfectly pure, that
it was capable of an immediate union with the Godhead in his per-
son. Though it be low and mean in itself, yet it is highly honoured
and exalted in its union with the Son of God ; and shall be the ob-
ject of the delightful sight and admiration of the redeemed from
among men through eternal ages.
6. It is impious and absurd to ascribe any part of man's redemp-
tion to any other. In the close of his sufferings on the cross, he
cried with a loud voice, ' It is finished,' and gave up the ghost ; in-
timating, that he had then perfected and completely finished the
great work of redemption committed to and undertaken by him. It
is therefore dishonourable to Christ, and dangerous for men, to join
any thing of their own to his righteousness, in point of justification
before God. The blessed Redeemer will never endure it. It re-
flects upon his Mediatory undertaking. If he be the only Redeemer
of God's elect, then certainly there can be no other. If he hath
finished that work, then there is no need of our additions. And if
that work be not finished by hira, how can it be finished by men ?
It is simply impossible for any creature to finish that which Christ
himself could not. But men would fain be sharing with him in this
honour, which he will never endure. He is the only Saviour of
sinners; and he will never divide the gloiy of it with us. Men
would fain have sojnething of their own to atone offended justice.
There is a legal strain, a strong bias towards the first covenant, run-
ning in the hearts of all men by nature. We would do something
for ourselves, and are unwilling to be obliged to another for our de-
liverance from that wretched condition that sin hath brought us into.
' What good thing shall I do (said the young man in the gospel)
that I may have eternal life.' But all our righteousnesses are but
OP Christ's incarnation. 389
as filthy rags. Though your heads were waters, and your eyes a
fountain of tears^ and you should weep day and night continually ;
nay, though you should weep tears of blood, all would be in vain ;
for it could not cleanse you from the guilt and pollution of the least
sin. To depend upon anything that ever he did, or can possibly do,
is but like the setting up of a paper-wall to keep off a devouring
fire : for it cannot screen you from the consuming flames of God's
wrath and fiery indignation. ' By the works of the law (says the
apostle), no flesh can be justified.'
7- Lasth/, If ye would be delivered from the state of sin and
misery into which ye are brought by your fall in the first Adam,
come unto and accept of the Lord Jesus Christ as your Redeemer.
God has laid help for you upon this mighty One, who is both able
and willing to save all that come unto God by him. Close with him
by faith, and you shall be redeemed from tlie guilt of sin, have its
power subdued in you, and at last be delivered from the inbeing of
it, and from all the penal consequences and eff'ects thereof. He is
now saying. Behold me, behold me ; 0 do not refuse him, lest ye
perish for ever.
OF CHRIST'S liNCARNATlON.
Luke i. 35. — T%e Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, aiid the power of
the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing
which shall he horn of thee shall be called the Son of God.
These words are the angel's answer to Mary, who, understanding
the angel as speaking of a thing presently to be done before Joseph
and she should come together, desires to know how she, being a vir-
gin, should conceive. Here,
1. The angel tells her how she should ' conceive and bring forth a
Son,' namely by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the power
of the Highest, the Spirit of God being the true God, and so the
Highest. The author of this conception is the Holy Ghost, not to
exclude the Father and the Son, who also concurred to this work, as
to all works without God himself; and besides the power of all the
three persons is one. But it is appropriated to the Spirit, as crea-
tion to the Father, and redemption to the Son, so the consummation
of all things to the Spirit. The way of the Spirit's powerful work-
ing to this miraculous conception, is denoted by two words. One is,
that the Holy Ghost should come upon her, not in an ordinary way, as
390 OP cirnisT's incarnation.
in the conception of all men, Job x. 8. ' Thine hands liaA'C made me,
and fashioned me together round about ;' but in an extraordinary
way, as on the prophets, and those that were raised to some extra-
ordinary work. The other is, that the power of the Highest, which is
infinite power, should overshadow her, to wit, make her, though a
virgin, to conceive by virtue of the eflicacy of infinite power, by
which the world was created, when the same Spirit moved on the
waters, cherished them, and framed the world. I shall say no more
of this, seeing the iloly Spirit did overshadow or cast a cloud over
the virgin in this operation, that men might not pry curiously into
this mystery.
2. He shews what should follow on this miraculous conception,
namely, that the fruit of her womb, the child she should bear,
should be called the Son of God. Where the angel teaches two
things. (1.) The immacrilate sinless conception of the child Jesus,
that holy thing, a holy thing though proceeding from a sinful crea-
ture, not tainted with sin, as all other children are. Job asks,
' Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ?' and answers,
' Not one.' But though this be impossible with men, yet it is pos-
sible with God, whose infinite power can do every thing. The
powerful operation of the divine Spirit sanctified that part of the
virgin's body of which the human nature of Christ was formed,
so that by that influence it was separated from all impurity and de-
filement. So that, though it proceeded from a creature infected
with original sin, there was no sin or taint of impurity in it. This
was a glorious instance of the power of the Highest. (2.) He tells
the virgin, that therefore, seeing that child to be thus conceived, he
should be called, that is, owned to be, the Son of God. He says not,
Therefore that holy thing shall be the Son of Glod, for he was the
Son of God before, by virtue of his eternal generation ; but. There-
fore he shall be called, i. e. owned to be really so, and more than a
man. The reason of this is, because Isaiah had prophesied that the
Son of God should be the Son of a virgin. When therefore you, a
virgin, shall conceive, your child shall be acknowledged to be the
Son of God in man's nature. Matth. i. 22, 23. ' Now all this was
done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the
prophet saying. Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring
forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which, being
interpreted, is, God with us.' He was promised to the church as
the Messiah, ' a child born unto us, a son given unto us,' Isa. ix. 6.
And he actually was so, Luke ii. 11.
DocT. ' Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became man, by taking to
himself a true body and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the
OF CIiniST's INCAIINATION. 391
power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the virgin Mary, and
born of her, yet without sin.'
In discoursing from this doctrine, I shall shew,
I. "Who she was that was the mother of Christ as man.
II. What we are to understand by his becoming man.
III. That ho was true man.
lY. What we are to understand by his being conceived of tlie
•Holy Ghost in the womb of the virgin Mary.
V. Why he was born of a virgin.
VI. Make application in a few inferences.
I. I am to shew who she was that was the mother of Christ as
man. Christ as God had no mother, and as man no father. But
his mother as man was ]\Iary. She was the seed of Abraham ; and
so Christ was that seed of Abraham, in whom all nations were to be
blessed, Gal. iii. 16. She was of the tribe of Judah, Luke iii. 33.
and of that tribe Christ by her did spring, Heb. vii. 14. She was
also of the family of David, as appears by her genealogy, Luke ill.
and therefore Christ is called the Son of David, as the Messiah be-
hoved to be. She was, however, but a mean woman, the family of
David being then reduced to a low outward condition in the world,
having long before lost its flourishing state ; so that our Lord
' sprung up as a root out of a dry ground,' Isa. xi. 1. and liii. 2.
She was a virgin before and at the time of her bringing forth Je-
sus, but espoused to Joseph, who was of the same tribe with her.
What she was after, I think Christians should raise no question
about that matter, seeing the scripture has buried it in silence.
And therefore, as they are presumptuous who would always make
her being a virgin an article of faith, so they are rash that would
define the contrary. For they are but little versed in the scripture,
who know not that kinsmen among the Jews are ordinarily in saci'ed
writ called brethren ; as Abraham and Lot, his brother's son, are
called brethren, Gen. xiii. 8. So no argument can be drawn from
persons being designed the brethren of Chrbst, in the evangelists, to
prove that Mary bore children to Joseph.
II. I come to shew what we are to understand by Christ's becom-
ing man. It imi>lies,
1. That he had a real being and existence before his incarnation.
He truly was before he was conceived in the womb of the virgin,
and distinct from that being which was conceived in her. He tells
us himself, that he was in heaven before he ascended thither :
' What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was
before V John vi. 62. Yea, he was with his Father from all eter-
nity, before any of the creatures came out of the womb of nothing.
392 OF Christ's incarxation.
So Prov. viii. 29, 30, ' When he gave to the sea his decree, that the
v/aters should not pass his commandment : when he appointed the
foundations of tlie earth. Then I was by liini, as one brought up
with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.'
Here the Spirit of God describes the most blessed state of Jesus
Christ, from those eternal delights Avhich he had had with his Fa-
ther before his assumption of our nature, ' Then I was by him,' or
' with him :' he was so with him, as never any other was, even in his.
very bosom, John i. 18. ' The word was with God,' ver. 1, And he
calls himself ' the bread of life that came down from heaven,' chap.
vi. ver. 33. Here he opposeth himself to the manna, wherewith God
fed the Isi*aelites in the wilderness, which never was really in hea-
ven, nor had its original from thence. ' Moses gave you not that
bread from heaven, but the Fatlier gave you Christ really from
thence.' John xvi. 28. ' I came forth from the Father, and am come
into the world : again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.'
He is called ' Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.'
2. That he actually took upon him our nature. He assumed the
entire nature of man into the unity of his divine person, with all its
integral parts and essential properties ; and so was made or became
a real and true man by that assumption. Hence it is said, John i.
14. ' The Word was made flesh.' But though Jesus Christ had two
natures, yet not two persons, which was the error of Xestorius, who
lived in the fourth century. He so rent the natures of Christ asun-
der, as to make two distinct persons of them, and consequently two
Christs, of which one was crucified at Jerusalem, and the other not,
as he blasphemously alleged ; and so he plainly denied the hyposta-
tical union of the divine and human natures in the person of our
blessed Redeemer. But though Christ had two natures, yet but one
person : for his human nature never subsisted separately and dis-
tinctly by any personal subsistence of its own, as it is in all other
men ; but, from the first moment of his conception, it subsisted in
union with the second person of the adorable Trinity. Again, though
' the Word was made flesh,' yet it was without any confusion of the
natures, or change of the one into the other : which was the heresy
of the Eutychians of old, who so confounded the two natures in the
person of Christ, that they denied all distinction between them, Eu-
tyches thought that the union was so made in the natures of Christ,
that the humanity was absorbed and wholly turned into the divine
nature ; so that, by that transubstantiation, the human nature had no
longer being. To oppose this heresy, the ancient fathers did very
fitly make use of the sacramental union between the bread and wine
and the body and blood of Christ, and thereby shewed that the hu-
OF Christ's incarnation. 393
man nature of Christ is no more really converted into the Divinity,
and so ceascth to be the human nature, than the substance of the
bread and wine is really converted into the substance of the body
and blood of Christ, and thereby ceaseth to be both bread and wine.
But by this union the human nature is so united with the Divinity,
that each retains its own essential properties distinct. The proper-
ties of either nature are preserved entire. It is impossible that
'the majesty of the Divinity can receive any alteration ; and it is as
impossible that the meanness of the humanity can receive the im-
pression of the Deity, so as to be changed into it, and a creature be
metamorphosed into the Creator, and temporary flesh become eter-
nal, and finite mount up into infinite. As the soul and the body
are united, and make one person ; yet the soul is not changed into
the perfections of the body, nor the body into the perfections of the
soul. There is a change indeed made in the humanity, by its being
advanced to a more excellent union, but not in the Deity ; as a
change is made in the air when it is enlightened by the sun, not in
the sun which communicates that brightness to the air. Athanasius
makes the burning bush to be a type of Christ's incarnation ; the
fire signifying the divine nature, and the bush the human. The
bush is a branch springing from the earth, and the fire descends
from heaven. As the bush was united to the fire, yet was not hurt
by the flame, nor converted into the fire, there remained a difterence
between the bush and the fire, yet the properties of fire shined in
the bush, so that the whole bush seemed to be on fire : So in the in-
carnation of Christ, the human nature is not swallowed up by the
divine, nor changed into it, nor confounded with it : but they are so
united, that the properties of both remain firm : two are so become
one, that they remain two still ; one person in two natures, contain-
ing the glorious perfecti6ns of the Divinity, and the weakness of the
humanity. The fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Christ.
3. Christ's becoming man implies the voluntariness of this act of
his in assuming the human nature. When he was solacing himself
in the bosom of the Father with the sweetest pleasures that heaven
could afi"ord, yet even then the very prospect of his incarnation af-
forded him unspeakable delight, Prov. viii. 31. ' Rejoicing in the
habitable part of the earth, and my delights were the sons of men.'
See what is said, Psal. xl. 6, 7, B- ' Sacrifice and oflcring thou didst
not desire, mine ears hast thou opened : burnt-ofieriug and sin-otter-
ing hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come : in the volume
of the book it is written of me : I delight to do thy will, 0 my God:
yea, thy law is within my heart.' And when he Avas in the world,
and had endured many abuses and injuries from sinners, and con-
2c
394 OP Christ's incarnation.
tradictions of tliem against himself, and was even como to the most
difficult part of his work, yet oven then he could say, ' How am I
straitened (or pained) until it be accomplished !' Luke xii. 50. He
longed to have the work of Redemption finished, for which he had
assumed the human nature, that thereby he might be fitted and
qualified for suff'ering. lie cheerfully assumed our nature, that so
he might be capable to sufi'er, and thereby satisfy offended justice for
his i)eople's sins. He was not forced or constrained to become man,
but he willingly laid aside the robes of his Divinity, and cloathed
himself with the infirmities of the flesh. Yea, if he had not wil-
lingly engaged to take on our nature, and die for our sins, divine
justice could not have accepted of his blood as the price of our re-
demption.
III. I proceed to shew, that Christ was true man. Being the
eternal Son of God, he became man, by taking to himself a true
body and a reasonable soul. He had the same human nature which
is common to all men, sin only excepted. He is called in scripture
' man,' and ' the Son of man, the seed of the woman, the seed of
Abraham, the Son of David,' &c ; which designations could not
have been given unto him, if he had not been true man. And it is
said, Heb. ii. 14, 15, 16. ' Forasmuch as the children are partakers
of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same.
He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one. For
which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. For verily
he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the
seed of Abraham.' And so he became not an angel, but a man.
As man consists of two essential parts, body and soul ; so did
Christ. He had a real body of flesh, blood, and bones, not a fan-
tastical body, which is only a body in appearance. Hence he said
to his aff'righted disciples, when they thought they had seen a
spirit when he first appeared to them after the resurrection, ' Be-
hold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself : Handle me and see :
for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have,' Luke
xxiv. 39. He was born with a body which was prepared for him,
of the same appearance with those of other infants. He increased
in stature, and grew up by degrees ; and was so far from being sus-
tained without the ordinary nourishment wherewith our bodies are
preserved, that he was observed by his enemies to come eating and
drinking ; and when he did not so, he suffered hunger and thirst.
The thorns that pricked the sacred temples of his head, the nails
which penetrated tlirough his hands and his feet, and the spear that
pierced his blessed side, gave sufficient proof and testimony of the
natural tenderness and frailty of his flesh. — The actions and pas-
OP Christ's iNCAnNATioN. 396
sions of his life shew that he had true flesh. ITe was hungry,
thirsty, weary, faint, &;e. As therefore we believe that Christ came
into the world, so we must own that he came in the verity of our
human nature, even in true and proper flesh. With this deter-
minate expression it was always necessary to acknowledge him.
For ' every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the
flesh, is of God, and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh, is not of God,' 1 John iv. 2, 3. This
spirit appeared very early in the Christian church, in opposition to
the apostolical doctrine : and Christ, who is both God and man, was
as soon denied to be man as God. Simon Magus, the arch-heretic,
first began, and many afterward followed him. And as Christ had a
true body, so he had also a rational soul. For certainly, if the Son
of God would stoop so low as to take upon him our frail flesh, he
would not omit the nobler part, the soul, without which he could
not be man. We are told that Jesus increased in wisdom and sta-
ture, the one in respect of his body, the other in respect of his soul.
Wisdom belongeth not to the flesh, nor can the knowledge of God,
which is infinite, admit of an increase or addition. He then, whose
knowledge did improve together with his years, must have a sub-
ject proper for, and capable of it, which was no other than a human
soul. This was the seat of his finite understanding and directed
will, distinct from the will of his Father, and consequently that of
his divine nature, as appears by that known submission with res-
pect to his drinking the cup of divine wrath ; ' Not my will but
thine be done,' says he. This was the subject of those afl^ections and
passions which so manifestly appeared in the course of his life, and
particularly when he breathed forth that language, when entering
upon his last sufferings, ' My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto
death.' This was it which on the cross, immediately before his de-
parture, he committed to his Father's care, Luke xxiii. 46. * Fa-
ther, into thy hand I commend my spirit.' And as his death was
nothing else but the separation of his soul from his body, so the
life of Christ, as man, consisted in the vital union and conjunction
of that soul with the body. So that he who was perfect God was
also perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.
Which is to be observed, and asserted against the ancient heretics,
who taught that Christ assumed human flesh ; but the Word, or his
Divinity, was unto that body in place of a soul. As he could not
have been real man without a real body and reasonable soul, which
are the two essential and constituent parts of man, so he could not
have borne the punishment of his people's sins, if he had not suf-
fered in both. They had forfeited both soul and body to divine jus-
396 OF Christ's incarnation.
tice, and should have suffered in both for ever, in hell ; and therefore
Christ, when he substituted himself in their room, suffered both in
his body and in his soul. The sufferings of his body were indeed
very great ; it was filled with exquisite torture and pain ; but his
soul sufferings were much greater, as I observed in a former dis-
course.
lY. I come now to shew what we are to understand by Christ's
being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the M'omb of
the Virgin Mary. This is a great mystery, beyond the reach and
comprehension of a finite mind. The conception of our blessed Sa-
viour was miraculous and supernatural, above the methods of na-
ture. To open this a little three things are to be considered here.
1. The framing of Christ's human nature in the womb of the
virgin.
2. The sanctifying of it.
3. The personal union of the manhood with the Godhead.
First, Let us consider the framing of the human nature of Christ
in the womb of the virgin Mary. In the text the act is expressed
to be the effect of the infinite power of God. And it sets forth the
supernatural manner of forming the humanity of our blessed Sa-
viour. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the
Highest shall overshadow thee, and by an act of creative power frame
the humanity of Christ, and unite it to the Divinity. In the
framing of Christ's manhood, we are to consider the matter and
the manner of it. The matter of his body was of the very flesh and
blood of the virgin, otherwise he could not have been the Son of
David, of Abraham, and Adam, according to the flesh. Indeed God
might have created his body out of nothing, or have formed it of the
dust of the ground, as he did the body of Adam, our original Pro-
genitor : but had he been thus extraordinarily formed, and not pro-
pagated from Adam, though he had been a man like one of us, yet
he would not have been of kin to us ; because it would not have
been a nature derived from Adam, the common parent of us all. It
was therefore requisite to an affinity with us, not only that he
should have the same human nature, but that it should flow from
the same principle, and be propagated to him. And thus he is of
the same nature that sinned, and so what he did and suffered may
be imputed to us. "Whereas, if he had been created as Adam was,
it could not have been claimed in a legal and judicial way. Now,
the Holy Ghost prepared the matter of Christ's body of the sub-
stance of the virgin ; and he formed it of the matter thus prepared.
Hence says Christ, ' A body hast thou prepared me,' Heb. x. 5.
And says the apostle. Gal. iv. 4. ' God sent forth his Son made of a
OP Christ's incarnation. 397
woman.' The Holy Ghost sanctified that part of the virgin's sub-
stance whereof the body of Christ was to be formed, purging it from
all sin and taint of impurity. For though a man cannot, yet God
can bring a clean thing out of an unclean, and endue it with a capa-
city for the generation of a human body, which otherwise it would
not have had alone. Though Christ was conceived by the power of
the Holy Ghost in the womb of the virgin, yet we are not to think
that he was made of the substance of the Holy Ghost, whose essence
cannot be at all made. The Holy Ghost did not beget him by any
communication of his essence ; and therefore he is not the Father of
Christ, though he was conceived by his power. The Holy Ghost
did not minister any matter unto Christ from his own substance.
Hence Basil says, Christ was conceived, not of the substance, but
by the power, not by any generation, but by appointment and bene-
diction of the Holy Ghost. And as for his soul, it was not derived
from the soul of the virgin, as a part thereof; for spiritual sub-
stances are indivisible and impartible ; and nothing can be cut off
from them. But it was created and made of nothing by the divine
power, as all other souls are. Hence God is called ' the Father of
spirits,' Heb. xii. 9. and is said to ' form the spirit of man within
him,' Zech. xii. 1. Here the forming of the soul of man is joined
with these two glorious effects of God's creative power, the expan-
sion of the heavens, and laying the foundations of the earth. Our
Saviour's spirit was created by God, and infused into his body,
when fitly organized to receive it. Again, the manner of framing
the human nature of Christ is also to be considered ; and that was
extraordinary and miraculous, not by generation according to the
ordinary and stated course of nature, but by an extraordinary ope-
ration of the Holy Ghost above the laws of nature : and for this
cause it exceeds the compass of human reason, and the highest reach
of created understandings, either to conceive or express the order
and manner of his conception.
Secondhj, Let us consider the sanctifying of Christ's human na-
ture. I have already said, that that part of the flesh of the virgin,
whereof the human nature of Christ was made, was purified and re-
fined from all corruption by the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost,
as a skilful workman separates the dross from the gold. Our Sa-
viour was therefore called that hohj tiling, Luke i. 35. Now, this
sanctification of the human nature of Christ was necessary.
1. To fit it for personal union with the Word, who, out of his in-
finite love, humbled himself to become flesh, and at the same time
out of his infinite purity, could not defile himself by becoming sinful
flesh.
2 c 3
398 OF cueist's incarnation.
2. "With respect to the end of his incarnation, even the re-
demption and salvation of lost sinners ; that as the first Adam was
the fountain of our impurity, so the second Adam should also be the
pure fountain of our righteousness. God * sending his own Son in
the likeness of sinful flesh, condemned sin in the flesh ;' which ho
could not have condemned, had he been sent in sinful flesh. The
Father ' made him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him ;' which we could never
have been made, if he had been tainted with any sin. He that
needed redemption himself could never have purchased redemption
for us.
Tliirdly, We are to consider the personal union of the manhood
with the Godhead. To clear this a little, you would know,
1. That when Christ assumed our nature, it was not united con-
substantially, so as the three persons in the Godhead are united
among themselves ; they all have but one and the same nature and
will : but in Christ there are two distinct natures and wills, though
but one person.
2. They are not united physically, as the soul and body are
united in a man : For death actually dissolves that union ; but this
is indissoluble. So that when his soul was expired, and his body
interred, both soul and body were still united to the second person
as much as ever.
3. Nor yet is this such a mystical union as is between Christ and
believers. Indeed this is a glorious union. But though believers
are said to be in Christ, and Christ in them, yet they are not one
person with him.
But more positively, this assumption of which I speak is that
whereby the second person in the glorious Godhead did take the
human nature into a personal union with himself, by virtue whereof
the manhood subsists in the second person, yet without confusion, as
I shewed already, both making but one person Immanuel, God with
us. So that though there be a twofold nature in Christ, yet not a
double person. For the human nature of Christ never subsisted
separately and distinctly by any personal subsistance of its own, as
it doth in all other men ; but from the first moment of conception
subsisted in union with the second person of the adorable Trinity, in
a miraculous and extraordinary nianner, being supernaturally framed
within the womb of the virgin by the overshadowing of the Holy
Ghost. Again, as it was produced miraculously, so it was assumed
integrally ; that is to say, Christ took a complete and perfect soul
and body, with all and every faculty and member pertaining to it.
And this was necessary, that thereby he might heal the whole na-
OF Christ's incarnation. 399
tnre of the disease and leprosy of sin, which had seized upon and
wofully infected every member and faculty of man. Christ assumed
qll, to sanctify all. He designed a perfect recovery by sanctifying
us wholly in soul, body, and spirit : and therefore he assumed the
whole in order to it. Again, he assumed our nature with all its
sinless infirmities : therefore it is said of him, Heb. ii. 17- ' In all
things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren.' But here
we are to distinguish between personal and natural infirmities. Per-
sonal infirmities are such as befal particular persons, from particu-
lar causes, as dumbness, deafness, blindness, lameness, leprosies, &c.
Now, it was no way necessary that Christ should assume these ; but
the natural ones, such as hunger, thirst, weariness, sweating, bleed-
ing, mortality, &c. These he was subject unto, which, though they
are not in themselves formally and intrinsically sinful, yet they are
the eftects and consequents of sin. They are so many marks and
stains that sin hath left of itself upon our natures ; and upon that ac-
count Christ is said to * be sent in the likeness of sinful flesh,' Rom.
viii. 8. Again, the human nature is so united with the divine, that
each nature still retains its own essential properties distinct. And
this distinction is not, nor can be lost by that union. The humanity
was indeed changed by a communication of excellent gifts from the
divine nature ; but not by being brought into an equality with it : for
it was impossible that a creature should become equal to the Crea-
tor. He took upon him the form of a servant, but he lost not the
form of God. He despoiled not himself of the perfections of the
Deity, by taking upon him the humanity. The glory of his Divin-
ity was not extinguished or diminished, though it was eclipsed and
obscured under the vail of our humanity ; but there was no more
change in the hidiug of it, than there is in the body of the sun, when
he is shadowed by the interposition of a cloud. And this union of
the two natures in Christ is an inseparable union ; so that from the
first moment thereof, there never was, nor to all eternity shall there
ever be any separation of them.
Quest. But how did this union remain between them, when Christ's
human soul and body were separated from each other upon the
cross ! Ans. Though the natural union between his soul and body
was dissolved by death for a time, yet the hypostatical union be-
tween his divine and human nature remained as entire and firm as
ever. For though his soul and body were divided from each other,
yet neither of them were separated from the divine nature, but still
subsisted as they did before, by the subsistence of the second person
of the Trinity. And though Christ cried upon tlie cross with a loud
voice, ' My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?' yet that did
400 OF Christ's incarnation.
not imply a dissolution of that union : for if that dereliction should
signify a dissolution of the former union of his natures, the sepa-
ration had been made in his life, and not at his death ; for he made
this dolorous complaint before he gave up the ghost. But these
words infer no more, but that he was bereft of such joy and comfort
from the Deity, as should allay and mitigate the bitterness of his
present troubles. And therefore when our Saviour yielded up the
ghost, he suffered only an external violence ; and what was subject
to such corporeal force did yield unto these dolorous impressions :
and the imbecility and frailty of our nature being such, that life
cannot subsist long in exqusite torments, the disposition of his body
failed the soul, and the soul deserted his body. But because no
power hath force against omnipotence, nor could any finite agent
work upon the union made with the Word, therefore that did still
remain entire, both as to the soul and to the body.
V. I now proceed to shew, why Christ was born of a virgin. That
Christ was to be born of a virgin, was prophesied and foretold many
ages before his incarnatiou, as Isa. vii. 14. * Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.' Now,
that the mother of Jesus was that virgin spoken of by the prophet
Isaiah, is evident from the testimony of the evangelists, particularly
Mat. i. 18, &c. It was not convenient that he should be born in the
common order of father and mother ; for if he had been so born, he
would have been a natural son of Adam, and so represented by him
in the covenant of works, and an heir of Adam's sin, as others are
that are born by virtue of the blessing of marriage. By such a
birth he had been polluted and defiled with sin : ' For who can bring
a clean thing out of an unclean ;' Job xiv. 4. The Redeemer of the
world behoved to be so born, as not to derive the stain of man's na-
ture by his generation. For if he had been tainted with the least
spot of our corruption, he had been incapable of being a Redeemer :
he could never have redeemed others who stood in need of redemption
himself. And although God by his almighty power, had perfectly
sanctified an earthly father and mother and cleansed them from all
original sin, that so the human nature might have been trans-
mitted immaculate to him, as well as the Holy Ghost did purge that
part of the flesh of the virgin of which the body of Christ was made,
yet it was not convenient, that that person, who was God blessed for
ever, as well as man, in partaking of our nature, should have a con-
ception in the same manner with ours, but difterent from it, and in
some measure conformable to the infinite dignity of his person ;
which could not have been, had not a supernatural and a divine
person been concerned as an active principle in it. Besides, such a
OF Christ's incarnation. 401
birth had not been agreeable to the first promise, which calls him
the seed of the woman, not of the man ; and so the truth and vera-
city of God had suffered some detriment by it. The seed of the wo-
man only is set in opposition to the seed of the serpent. By his
being born of a virgin, the holiness of his nature is effectually se-
cured. This exempted him from the stain and pollution of Adam's
sin, which his nature wholly escaped, in that he received it not as
all others do, in the way of ordinary generation, wherein original
sin is propagated : but this being extraordinarily produced, was a
most pure and holy thing. Christ was an extraordinary person,
and another Adam ; and therefore it was necessary he should be pro-
duced a new way. At first Adam was produced neither of man nor
woman ; Eve of a man without a woman ; all others of a man and a
woman. The fourth way remained, viz. of a woman without a man ;
and so Christ was born. And the wisdom of Grod appeared in that
he was born of a virgin espoused ; for thereby the reproach of illegi-
timacy was warded oft*; he had Joseph to take care of him in his
infancy ; his mother's good name and life were preserved from the
malicious Jews ; and our faith was the more confirmed by Joseph's
testimony concerning Mary.
Thus we may be thoroughly satisfied,
1. That Christ had a true human body; and that though he was
made in the likeness of sinful flesh, he had not merely the likeness
of flesh, but true flesh, Luke xxiv. 39. Heb. ii. 14.
2. That he had a reasonable soul, which was a created spirit, and
that the divine nature was not instead of a soul to him. When he
died, he commended his spirit to God, Luke xxiii. 46. There is in
him a created and. an uncreated understanding and will, Mark xiii.
32. Luke xxii. 42. Thus he was true man, consisting of soul and
body. And the human nature being united to the divine, there
were great gifts of holiness, wisdom, &c. in the human nature of
Christ, by virtue of this union, which yet were not infinite, Luke
ii. 52.
3. That Christ's body was not made of any substance sent down
from heaven, but of the substance of the virgin. Gal. iv. 4. He was
' the seed of the woman,' Gen. iii. 15. and the fruit of Mary's womb,
Luke i. 42. otherwise he had not been our brother.
4. That the Holy Ghost cannot be called the Father of Christ,
since his human nature was formed, not of his substance, but of
that of the virgin, by his power.
5. That though as to the nativity of Christ there was nothing as
to the way of it extraordinary, but he was at the ordinary time
brought forth as others, Luke ii. 22, 23. and that as a general truth.
402 OP cnniST's incarnation.
* A woman, when she is in travail, hath sorrow, because her hour is
come,' John xvi. 21. yet ho was born without sin, being that holy
thing. He could not have been our lledeemer, had he not been so.
Heb. vii. 26. Neither could he have sinned, seeing the human na-
ture was put beyond that capacity, by its union with the divine ;
and whatsoever Christ did or could do was the action of that person
who was God, and so free from sin.
6. That the reason why Christ was born without sin, and the sin
of Adam did not reach him, was because he came not of Adam by
ordinary generation, not by the blessing of marriage, but by a spe-
cial promise after the fall.
I shall conclude all with some inferences.
1. Jesus Christ is the true Messiah promised to Adam as the seed
of the woman, to Abraham as his seed, the Shiloh mentioned by Ja-
cob on his death bed, the Prophet spoken of by Moses to be raised
from among the children of Israel, the Son of David, and the Son to
be born of a virgin.
2. Behold the wonderful love of Grod the Father, who was content
to degrade and abase his dear Son, in order to bring about the sal-
vation of sinners. How astonishing is it, that he should send his
only-begotten Son to assume our nature, and bear that dreadful
wrath and punishment that we deserved ?
3. See here the wonderful love, and astonishing condescendency
of the Son, to be born of a woman, in order that he might die in the
room of sinners. 0 how low did he stoop and humble himself, in
assuming human nature, with all its sinless infirmities, in being sub-
ject to his own law, exposed to all manner of injurious usage from
wicked men, to the temptations of Satan, and at last suffering a
shameful and ignominious death ! What great love to sinners, and
what unparalleled condescension was here !
4. See here the cure of our being conceived in sin, and brought
forth in iniquity. Christ was born of a woman for us, and he was
born without sin for us, that the holiness of his nature might be im-
puted to us as a part of that righteousness which constitutes the
condition of our justification before God. In him is a complete
righteousness for our guilt, and a fountain for washing away our
spiritual pollution.
5. Christ is sensibly touched with all the infirmities that attend
our frail nature, and has pity and compassion upon his people under
all their pressures and burdens. Hence the apostle says, Heb. ii.
17, 18. ' In all things it behoved him to be made like unto his breth-
ren ; that he might be a merciful and faithful High Priest, in things
partainiug to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people :
OF Christ's ofpices in general. 403
for in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to
succour them that are tempted.' How comfortable is it to believers
to consider, that he who is their great High Priest in heaven, is
clothed with their nature, to capacitate and qualify him to have
compassion on them in all their troubles and distresses,
6. Let this encourage sinners to come unto him, that they may be
united unto him by faith, and so partake of the blessings of his pur-
chase. Come and enter into a marriage-relation with him. Sin
shall not stop the match, if ye be willing. He that could sanctify
the virgin's substance to make it a sinless piece of flesh, can easily
sanctify you. And he that united the human nature to his divine
person, can also unite you to himself, so as ye shall never be sepa-
rated from hira.
OF CHRIST'S OFFICES IN GENERAL.
Zecii. vi. 13. — Even he shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall
hear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he slmll he
a Priest iipon his throne.
Having shewn that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Redeemer of
elect sinners, and that it was necessary he should be God and man
in one person, to qualify him for his Mediatory undertaking, I come
now to speak of the offices which Christ executes as our Redeemer,
from the test now read.
In the 11th verse of this chapter, there is a typical action crown-
ing Joshua the high priest with two crowns, which is applied and
explained in the following verses as representing Christ in his
offices, who has on his head many crowns. In the 12th verse, there
is a prophecy of the incarnation of Christ, under the metaphor of a
branch, as sprung from the family of David, and making but a
mean appearance in the world, ' as a root out of a dry ground.' In
the verse where our text lies, we have the offices which ho was to
execute as our Redeemer ; which are throe.
1. The office of a Prophet; He shall build the temple of the Lord;
that is, his own church, whereof the temple was a type, by the word
of the gospel, which it is his work to promulgate as a Prophet.
For the church is ' built upon the foundation of the prophets and
apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone,' and the
revealer of those truths which the prophets and apostles taught.
2. The office of a Priest ; namely to expiate the sins of his people
to purchase peace for them, and to manage their cause with God.
404 OF Christ's offices in general.
3. That of a King ; for he has a throne, which denotes his kingly
office. He is a Priest upon h'ls throne, denoting the reward of his
suiferings, and the liigh dignity he is advanced to in consequence of
his humiliation and satisfactory sufferings. And he is represented
as sitting on his throne, not a King in name only, or an inactive
monarch, but exercising acts of jurisdiction and government. In
him all the glory of these offices is to meet : and these offices he
shall hold and exercise in spite of all opposition : He shall sit and
rule upon his throne.
The text affords foundation for the following doctrine, viz.
DocT. ' Christ, as our Redeemer, executeth the offices of a Prophet,
of a Priest, and of a King, both in his estate of humiliation and
exaltation.'
In discoursing from this doctrine, I shall shew,
I. The verity of these offices in Christ.
II. The necessity of his exercising them as our Redeemer.
III. When he did exercise these offices.
lY. Lastly, Deduce some inferences.
1. I am to shew the verity or reality of these offices in Christ. I
say then, that Christ as our Redeemer, is actually invested with
these offices ; he is truly a Prophet, a Priest, and a King ; and also
that he executes them, that is, performs the functions of, or what
belongs to these offices. This clearly appears,
1. From plain scripture testimony, (1.) To his having or being
possessed of these offices. — He is a Prophet, that Prophet foretold
by Moses, who was to be heard in all things that he should say ;
and of whom it is said, ' That every soul that would not hear him,
should be destroyed from among the people, Acts iii. 22, 23. which
passage is apjilied to Jesus Christ by the apostle Peter, and can
agree to none but him, who teacheth as never man taught, even
with authority and power. — He is a Priest. So he is expressly
called, Heb. v. 6. ' Thou art a Priest for ever, after the order of
Melchisedec ;' and in several other places of that epistle, where the
reality, nature, and end of his priesthood are largely described. —
He is a King : Psal. ii. 6. ' Yet have I set my King upon my holy
hill of Zion.' Psal. ex. 2. ' Rule thou in the midst of thine ene-
mies.' He has all the ensigns of royal authority. The ceremony of
inauguration or anointing to his office, Psal. ii. 6. Heb. ' I have
anointed my King upon my holy hill of Zion ;' a crown, Psal. xxi.
3 ; a sword, Psal. xlv. 3 ; a sceptre, Psal. Ixv. 6 ; subjects, Luke 1.
33. John i. 49. (2.) The scriptures boar witness to his executing
these offices. Hence he says himself, ' I am the way, and the truth,
and the life,' John xiv. 6. He is the ivay to life and happiness by
OF Christ's offices in general. 405
his death ; the truth in his word, the sura aiid substance of all re-
vealed truth ; and the life in his Spirit, quickening and preserving
his people by his power. He ' of God is made unto his ■people wis-
dom, and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption :' xuisdom
as a Prophet, righteousness as a Priest, and sanctification and redem-
tion as a King.
2. We learn this also from his name Christ, or Messiah, which
signifies the anointed One. I told you in a former discourse, that
three sorts of persons used to be anointed under the law, viz. Pro-
phets, 1 Kings xix. 16; priests, as Aaron, Exod. xxix. 7; and
kings, as David and others. Eut all these offices meet in Christ,
who was anointed for the execution of them. Hence he says him-
self, Isa. Ixi. 1. ' The Siurit of the Lord God is upon me, because
the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek,
he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty
to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are
bound.' He is anointed to preach good tidings unto the meek, as a
Prophet ; to bind up the broken-hearted, as a Priest ; and to proclaim
liberty, as a King. He was not anointed with material oil, as the
prophets, priests, and kings, under the Old Testament dispensation
were, but with the oil of the Spirit ; ' The Spirit of the Lord God is
upon me (says he), because the Lord hath anointed me.' And God
is said to have ' anointed him with the oil of gladness above his fel-
lows,' Psal. xlv. 7. Now, this unction signified, (1.) His being set
apart to the Mediatory work, and to these offices : the Father ' sanc-
tified him, and sent him into the world,' John x. 36. (2.) His being
fully furnished with gifts and qualifications suitable to these offices,
in respect of his human nature, to which the Spirit was given, not
by measure, Isa. xi. 1 , 2. &c. but in fulness, not of sufficiency only,
but abundance, not the fulness of a vessel, but of a fountain, in
order to communicate liberally unto his people, John i. 16. He was
solemnly inaugurated to these offices at his baptism. Mat. iii. 17. at
his transfiguration, Mat. xvii. 5. and at his exaltation, Acts ii. 36.
And he was as solemnly called to these offices, Heb. v. 4, 5. ' No
man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God,
as was Aaron : so also, Christ glorified not himself, to be made an
High Priest ; but he that said unto him, ' Thou art my Son, to-day
have I begotten thee.
II. Let us next consider the necessity of his exercising these
offices. Christ's incarnation and taking on him the work of our re-
demption was entirely voluntary, without the least shadow of co-
action and compulsion ; but seeing ho Ayas pleased out of his great
kindness to us, to become our Redeemer, it was necessary for our
406 OP Christ's offices in generajj,
salvation tliat he should execute all these three ofRces. This will
be clear, if we,
1. Consider our misery by sin, ignorance, guilt, and bondage.
We were ignorant of the way of returning to God again ; and
therefore Christ as our Prophet must teach us. We durst not look
him in the face, being covered with guilt ? and therefore Christ as a
Priest must make atonement, and remove our guilt. We were in
bondage to sin and Satan, and could not return to God, nor recover
ourselves out of our thraldom ; therefore Christ as a King delivers
us, brings us back again, leading captivity captive. As a Prophet
he gives light to the blind, as a Priest he brings merit, and as a
King power.
2. Consider the salvation which the elect were to be made par-
takers of. It behoved to be revealed unto them, seeing of them-
selves they could never discover it, being quite blind and ignorant ;
and therefore our Redeemer became a Prophet to reveal the things
that concern our salvation unto us, and instruct us therein. It be-
hoved to be purchased for sinners, who, being weak and unfit for
any spiritual work, could never purchase it for themselves : there-
fore he became a Priest to purchase life and eternal redemption for
us. It behoved to be applied by the power of his Spirit ; for as sin-
ners could not purchase salvation, far less could they apply it to
themselves : therefore Christ became a King. The slaves could
never have raised their ransom, nor known it after it was paid, far
less before ; and they were unwilling to come out of their bondage.
And therefore it behoved our Redeemer to be invested with these
three offices.
3. Consider Christ as Mediator of the covenant, who behoved to
deal with both parties, in order to bring them together. God was
offended with our sin and guilt ; and therefore for us he behoved to
be a Priest, to satisfy law and justice, and intercede for our pardon.
We knew not what was in agitation between the Father and the
Son ; and therefore he behoved to be a revealer of that grace, and
merciful contrivance. We were unwilling to deal with God ; there-
fore he behoA^ed, as a King, to bring ns to submit and yield to his
government. The benefits of the covenant he behoved to purchase,
reveal, and administer.
4. Consider the work of conversion. The soul must be enlight-
ened, by the conviction of the Prophet, to see its misery, and the
suitableness of the remedy : upon the sight of its misery, the soul
would^ despair, were not the blood of the Priest to sprinkle the con-
science ; and the will would never yield, if it felt not the power of
his conquering sword.
OP Christ's offices in general. 407
o. Consider our daily necessities. Are we not every day in the
dark about something ? Wliat should become of us, if we had not
the great Prophet to go to for instruction and direction ? We arc
every day contracting new guilt : what would be our case, if there
were not a lasting merit and an abiding Advocate ? Are we not
always needing protection against our enemies? how then should
we break through the armies of hell, if our King were not on our
head, to subdue them under us ?
6. Lastly, Consider the promises, which are the stay and staff
of the Christian's life, without which they could never bear up.
Christ's offices are the source and spring of all these. How pre-
cious are the promises of illumination, guidance, direction, &c. to
the blind and those who know not the way? These flow from
Christ's pi'ophetical office. ' Behold, (says Jehovah), I have given
him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the
people,' Isa. Iv. 4. How precious are promises of peace, pardon,
and reconciliation, to those who are disquieted with fears, with
guilt and sin ? These flow from his Priestly office. And the pro-
mises of protection and deliverance to captives flow from his Kingly
office. All the promises are the purchase of the blood of Christ ;
and they are all yea and amen in him, and flow from and through
him.
III. I come now to shew, when Christ did execute these offices.
As he was the Redeemer of the church in all ages, so did he execute
these offices in all ages of the church. In the Old Testament he
was the great Prophet of the church ; for it is said, John i. 18. ' No
man hath seen God at any time : the only-begotten Son, which is in
the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.' He brought tho
glad tidings of salvation unto sinners in all the discoveries thereof
from the first gospel-promise until his manifestation in the flesh.
And he not only reveals the things concerning salvation unto men,
but teaches them, and gives men an understanding to apprehend
and know them. He was a Prophet unto the church in tho wilder-
ness : Hence it is said, Exod. xxiii. 20. 'Behold, I send an angel
before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring' thee into the
place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice.'
And we read, that * by the Spirit he went and preached unto the
spirits in prison,' 1 Pet. iii. 19. that is, unto the sinners in the old
world, by the ministry of Noah, who, not repenting, were then, at
the time the apostle wrote, in the prison of hell. He was also their
Priest, interceding, on the ground of his future sufferings, for his
people. Of this we have a remarkable instance, Zech. i. 12. * 0
Lord of hosts, liow long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem,
408 OP Christ's officer in general.
and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation
these threescore and ten years ?' And ho was their King, the Cap-
tain of the Lord's host, who led and conducted them, delivered
them from the Egyptian bondage, guided them through the howling
wilderness, placed them in Canaan, instituted their whole religious
worship and service, &c.
But more especially Christ executed these offices after his incar-
nation, and that in his twofold estate of humiliation and exaltation.
These are his two estates, of which the apostle speaks, Phil. ii. 8, 9.
' Being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God
also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above
every name.'
He was a prophet while on earth, and still is revealing by his
Word and Spirit the will of Grod for the salvation of his people.
The whole doctrine of the Bible was taught by him ; and it is by
him that all saving knowledge is communicated to this day, and will
be to the end of time.
He was a Priest in his state of humiliation, as well as he is in his
state of exaltation. He offered his sacrifice on the earth, and there-
fore was a Priest there. Hence saith the apostle, Eph. v. 2. ' Christ
— hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a
sweet smelling savour.' Nor did he ascend into heaven, till by his
sacrifice he had ' purged away our sins,' Heb. i. 3. And he con-
tinues an interceding Priest for ever, Heb. vii. 25.
He was also a King in his state of humiliation. He was born a
King, Matth, ii. 2. went into Jerusalem as a King, in accomplish-
ment of an ancient prophecy concerning him, Matth. xxi. 5. owned
himself to be a King before Pilate, Matth. xxvii. 11. It was the
Lord of glory that was crucified, 1 Cor. ii. 8. And he is now ex-
alted to his throne, and is styled, ' King of kings, and Lord of
lords,' and will reign till all his enemies be made his footstool, and
all his subjects be brought home to glory.
Here it may be observed, that these three offices, which Christ
executes, are not to be divided, especially when they are executed
in a way that is effectual for the salvation of the subjects thereof.
He may indeed objectively reveal the will of God, and give laws to
his church, as a Prophet, without giving them the unction whereby
those who are savingly taught of God know all things necessary to
salvation : and he may execute his regal office, as a Judge, in in-
flicting heavy judgments and calamities on his enemies, without
subduing them to that obedience aud subjection to him which is the
privilege of real believers. Yet it is a certain truth, that wherever
OF Christ's offices in (jeneral. 409
he executes one of these offices in a saving way, he executes them
all. In this respect, though the offices are distinct, yet they are
not divided. For whosoever is taught by him as a Prophet, so as to
be made wise unto salvation, is redeemed unto God by his blood as a
Priest, and is subdued by his power as a King, and made a willing
subject to him : and all whose sins are expiated by him as a Priest,
shall, in his own time, be savingly taught by him as a Prophet, and
made his willing subjects as a King, in the day of his power.
A few inferences shall shut up this subject.
1. How great and how glorious is our Lord Jesus Christ, who was
meet to bear all these offices at once, and exercise them at once, so
as one does not mar or clash with another ! He is glorious indeed
in whom all the glory scattered amongst the typical persons is per-
fectly concentered. If it was an honour to Melchizedec, to be both
a j)riest and a king, and David to be both a king and a proi>het ;
how much more glorious is it for our divine Mediator to be a Pro-
phet, a Priest, and a King, really possessed of these offices, and ex-
ercising them in their full extent, in a more efficacious manner than
any person that was ever invested with any of them on earth !
2. Let this commend Christ unto you as a full and a suita*ble
Saviour. There is no case a poor sinner can be in, but he will find
the remedy of it in these offices of Christ, Art thou, 0 sinner,
under spiritual darkness and ignorance ? There is knowledge and
instruction to be had from him. He is the light of the world and
can give thee an understanding to know him that is true, he can
give thee the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of
Christ, Art thou under guilt and condemnation, laden with sin
that is like to sink thee to hell ? There is righteousness in him as
a Priest to remove thy guilt. He is the atonement and propitiation
for sin. He saves from sin and wrath. Art thou a slave to sin
and Satan ? He is a King, who came to destroy the works of the
devil : he can break the dominion of sin in thee, knock off thy fet-
ters, and subdue all thy spiritual enemies.
3. Ye cannot take Christ, as a Redeemer, if ye take him not in
all his offices. He offers himself to sinners no other way. And
what God has joined together let no man put asunder. Many pre-
tend to take Christ as a Saviour to save them from hell and wrath,
who do not hearken to him as a Prophet to teach them the saving
knowledge of God, nor submit to his laws and commandments.
How many call Christ their Lord, and yet do not the things that
he saith ? 0 the folly of the world, that reject Christ's teaching,
saying, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy
ways ! 0 the stupidity of those who despise Christ as a Priest, and
2b
410 OF Christ's offices in geneeal.
tliinlc to recommend themselves to the divine favour by their own
works of righteousness, which they substitute in the room of his
righteousness ! 0 the madness of those who contemn Christ as a
King, refusing to submit to his royal authority, and who spurn at
his laws and government ! And how foolish are the princes of the
earth that will not suffer Christ to reign freely in their dominions,
but encroach on his authority, and make laws opposite to and in-
consistent with his !
4. Do ye receive Christ in all his offices, giving up yourselves to
be taught by him as a Prophet, in all things relating to your salva-
tion, renouncing your own knowledge and wisdom ; to be justified
by his righteousness, and Avashed in his blood, renouncing all your
own righteousness, as filthy rags, saying, ' in the Lord alone have I
righteousness, and counting all things but loss and dung, that ye
may win Christ, and be found in him, not having your own righte-
ousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, even the righteousness which is of God by faith ;' and to be
guided and conducted, ruled and governed by him as your Sove-
reign Lord and King, yielding a hearty and cheerful obedience to
all *his laws and commandments, and saying, ' Other lords besides
thee have had dominion over us ; but by thee only will we make
mention of thy name.'
5. Employ this mighty Eedeemer in all the offices wherewith he
is invested, and which as Mediator he exercises for the benefit of
the ruined race of mankind. Ye have absolute need of him in all
these offices. Ye are witless and foolish, and stand in need of his
wisdom to guide and direct you ; and ye are ignorant both of your-
selves and of Grod, and so require saving knowledge and instruction.
Ye are guilty and condemned sinners, nay, daily oflTenders, and so
stand in need of pardon, nay, of continual pardons. Ye are weak,
and have no strength to combat your spiritual adversaries, and so
require the exertion of his mighty power as King of kings to cause
you stand against your adversaries. If you knew yourselves, and
were exercised to godliness, you would see the absolute necessity of
all Christ's offices for your salvation, and would every day bless
God for such a complete and all-sutticient Redeemer. 0 make use
of him daily in all his glorious offices, and honour him by putting
employment in his hand, as your Prophet, Priest, and King.
or ciikist's prophetical office. 411
OF CHRIST'S PROPHETICAL OFFICE.
Acts iii. 22. — A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you,
of your brethren like unto me ; him shall ye hear in all things what-
soever he shall say unto you.
IlAviNa shewn that the Lord Jesus Christ, as our Redeemer, is in-
vested with, and actually executes the offices of a Prophet, Priest,
and King, I come now to speak of these offices distinctly ; and shall
begin with his prophetical office, which is plainly asserted in the
words now read.
Here the apostle Peter shews the Jews, Moses pointing to Christ
as the great Prophet of the church. Moses had told the Israelites
in the wilderness. Dent, xviii. 15. 'The Lord thy God will raise up
unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like
unto me ; unto him ye shall hearken.' Peter tells the Jews, that
this eminent Prophet was now come, and exhorts them to submit
unto his instructions. In the words we have,
1. A description of Christ as to his prophetical office, A Prophet
shall the Lord your God raise up unto you. Where
\st, Christ is described by his title, a Prophet, and that the
Prince of all the Prophets, or the ' great,' or ' chief Shepherd,' as he
is styled by the apostles. It belongs to a prophet, by virtue of his
office, to expound the law, declare the will of God, and foretel
things which are to come. All these meet in Christ our great Pro-
phet in a singular and eminent manner.
2dly, He is here described by his type ; ' a Prophet like unto me,'
says Moses ; who therein typified and prefigured Christ. But you
may say, is it not said of Moses, Deut. xxxiv. 10. ' There arose not
a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face
to face.' I answer, It is true indeed of a mere man there never
arose so great a prophet in Israel as Moses was, either in respect of
his familiarity with God, or of the miracles which he wrought by
the efficacy of the divine power. Moses, however, was but a ser-
vant, and Christ a Son : Moses was but a star to this Sun, and de-
rived all his light and knowledge from him. All the prophets
under the Old Testament, however eminent were but Stars, and bor-
rowed all their light from the Sun of righteousness. Nevertheless
there were several things wherein Christ was like to Moses ; such
as, Moses and Christ were both persecuted in their infancy, Moses
was a deliverer from the temporal, but Christ from the spiritual
Egypt, of which the former was a figure. But more particularly,
Christ was like to Moses,
2r 2
412 OF Christ's prophetical office.
(1.) In this great intimacy and familiarity with God. It is said,
Exod. xxxiii. 11. that ' the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a
man spcaketh unto his fricud.' He spake with Moses freely, fami-
liarly, and immediately ; not by an angel, in a dream or vision, as
he did to other prophets. Now Christ was like Moses in this re-
spect, and far excelled him in it; for he was intimate with God
from all eternity. Pro v. viii. 30 ; he was ' with God,' John i. 1. and
lay in his bosom, knowing all his counsels and purposes.
(2.) Christ was like to Moses in tlie excellency of his ministra-
tion, and his great faithfulness in the discharge of it. It is said,
Heb. iii. 2. ' He was faithful to him that appointed him, as also
Moses was faithful in all his house.' As the office of Moses ex-
tended to the whole house of God under the law, and to all the ser-
vice of it ; so did Christ's reach to the whole church of God, and to
all the service of it under the gospel. As Moses was appointed of
God to give out what he delivered ; so was Christ appointed by his
Father to institute what he did institute, and abrogate what he did
abrogate. As Moses was faithful to him that appointed him in all
the matters of God's house, keeping back nothing that he was com-
manded to reveal ; so was Christ faithful to the Father, who did ap-
point him in like manner ; yea, Christ far excelled Moses, as the
apostle shews, Heb. iii. 3. 4. ' For this man was counted worthy of
more glory than Moses, in as much as he who hath builded the
house, hath more honour than the house. For every house is
builded by some man ; but he that built all things is God.'
(3.) Moses was a prophet that mediated between God and the
people. He carried God's mind to them, and returned their mind
to God, because they were not able to hear the voice of God immedi-
ately themselves, Deut. xviii. 16, 17. So Christ is a Mediator be-
tween God and man ; he deals with God for man, and with man for
God.
(4.) As Moses confirmed his doctrine by many miracles which he
wrought in the presence of the people to their full conviction ; so
our great Prophet is like unto Moses in this also : for he wrought
many mighty miracles in the view and face of the world, which
could not be denied, and thereby confirmed the doctrine which he
preached, and verified the divinity of his person and mission.
'^dly, Christ is here described by his stock and lineage from which
he sprung according to the flesh, ' A Prophet shall the Lord raise
up of your brethren ; whose are the fathers, and of whom, as con-
cerning the flesh, Christ came,' says the apostle, Rom. ix. 5. He
was an Israelite : and it is evident tliat he sprang from the tribe of
Judah, Heb. vii. 14. He i>ut great honour and dignity ui)on that
people and nation by his nativity and descent from them.
OF Christ's PEOPiiETicAii office. 413
2. There is a strict injunction given of obedience to tliis Prophet :
' Him shall ye hear in all things,' By hearing, in this place, wo are
to understand obedience : and this obedience is required to be given
to this Prophet only, universally, and under great penalties. (1.)
It is required to be given to him only ; for so him in the text must
be understood as exclusive of all others. It is true, we are com-
manded to obey the voice of his messengers and ministers, Heb. xiii.
17. but still it is Christ speaking by them to whom we are to pay
our obedience. ' He that hcareth you (says he), hearetli me.' We
are to obey them ' in the Lord,' i. e. commanding and forbidding in
Christ's name and authority. (2.) This obedience must be given to
him universally : ' Him shall ye hear in all things.' Whatever he
enjoins must presently be complied with ; his commands are to be
obeyed, not disputed. It is true, a judgment of discretion is allowed
to Christians, to judge whether it be the will of God or not. We
must ' prove what is the holy, good, and acceptable will of the
Lord,' Rom. xii. 2. And whenever his will is understood and
known, we have no liberty to chuse, but must conform ourselves to
it, be the duty commanded ever so difficult, or the sin forbidden
ever so pleasing and tempting. (3.) This obedience is required
under a very severe penalty, even no less than being cut off and de-
stroyed from among the people, and of God's requiring it at our
hands, Deut. xviii. 19. Acts iii. 22. ' I will require it of him ;' i. e.
revenge myself in the destruction of the disobedient. This obliga-
tion laid on men to obey the great Pi'ophet, is not a prediction,
more than the commands, ' Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not com-
mit adultery,' &c.
The. doctrine natively arising from the text is,
DocT. ' Christ is a Prophet, and, as the Redeemer of his people, exe-
cutes that office, in revealing to them, by his word and Spirit,
the will of God for their salvation.
In discoursing this doctrine, I shall shew,
I. What is implied in Christ's revealing the will of God for our
salvation.
II. What is that will of God that Christ reveals.
III. How he reveals this will of God.
IV. For what ends he reveals the will of God, and the necessity
of this revelation in order to our salvation.
V. Lastly, Make some improvement.
1. I am to shew what is implied in Christ's revealing the will of
God for our salvation, wherein Christ's prophetical work lies. It
implies,
1. That as it is God's determined will and purpose that some of
2ii 3
414 OF Christ's prophetical office.
mankind shall be saved, so lie has laid doAvn a certain way and
method for their salvation, out of which none can be saved, and in
which all that take it sliall be saved,
2. That the discovery of this method of salvation was a secret of
God that man could never have found out, John i. 18. It was a
counsel in the breast of God, which, for man or angel, might for
ever have lain hid.
3. That our Lord Jesus was intimately acquainted with this will
of God, John i. 18. He was ' in the bosom of the Father.' He was
privy to his eternal counsels, as being the eternal Son of God. And
therefore he needed not be carried to heaven, to hear and learn
from God what he was to teach ere he began to preach to the world,
being ' God manifested in the flesh,' 1 Tim. iii. 16. Neither did he
ascend unto heaven oftener than once, and that only after he had
suffered, Heb. ix. 12.
4. That unto Jesus Christ we owe the discovery and revelation of
the divine will. He is the fountain of all that light which points
out the way to salvation, Isa. Iv. 4. ' I have given him, (says the
Lord), for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the
people.' He is that true pillar of cloud that guides to the heavenly
Canaan ; and no beams of saving light shine on the world but from
him, John iii. 13. and in the face of Jesus, 2 Cor. iv. 6.
II. I proceed to shew what is that will of God that Christ as a
Prophet reveals. It is the will of God for the salvation of sinners,
and that the whole will of God in all things concerning their edifi-
cation and salvation. It is ' the word of his grace which is able to
build them up,' Acts xx. 32. It is ' written, that ye might believe,
— and that believing ye might have life.'
This may be reduced to two heads.
1. Faith. Man was broken off from God and his favour and fel-
lowship. It was the will of God, that man. should come and be re-
united to him in the way of believing in a slain Redeemer. This
Christ has revealed in the gospel. Therein he has laid open the
mystery of reconciliation, as laid down betwixt the Father and him
from eternity, in all the parts thereof, and this by his word and
Spirit to teach his own children.
2. Obedience. Man, as he could not, so he knew not how to serve
acceptably. Christ has also fully discovered that point. And
therefore we find him at his prophetical work, expounding the law,
and vindicating it from the false glosses of the Pharisees, Matth. r.
vi. vii. and every where not only shewing men what to do, but how
to do it.
More particularly, as the will of God denotes all that God would
OP Christ's prophetical office. 415
liave ns to know, believe, and do, in order to onr salvation ; and as
there are some things to be known as the foundation of our faith,
some things to be believed, and some things to be done in point of
duty, as the fruits and effects of true saving faith ; so these particu-
lars being the objects of Christ's teaching, I shall mention a few of
them very briefly.
1. Christ makes known to us our original state, that holy and
happy condition in which man was made ; of which I gave you a
specimen in the discourse concerning the creation of man. Man
was then a holy and happy creature, the peculiar favourite of hea-
ven, and endued with choicer prerogatives than all the creatures in
this lower world. It is necessary for us to know this, that we may
not accuse God of that sin and disorder which now prevails in our
constitution, and renders us objects of the divine abhorrence ; and
may be unwearied till we regain our forfeited felicity. This is a
matter of pure revelation, and is accordingly taught us in the in-
spired volume.
2. Christ reveals to ns our misery and wretchedness by the fall.
This I also endeavoured to open up to you in the course of this
work. Man, by sin, lost communion with God, fell under his wrath
and curse, and is liable to temporal and eternal miseries. This
miserable state, though also a matter of revelation, is well known to
all the descendants of Adam, so that they feel it in their sad expe-
rience, and they have no need to be taught it. But Christ teaches
his people this doctrine in a manner that the rest of the world are
strangers to. And therefore,
3. Christ reveals to us our woful impotency and inability to help
ourselves. This is the fatal consequence of the fall, and has been
partly mentioned in the foregoing part of this work. ' 0 Israel,
(says the Lord), thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine
help,' Hos. xiii. 9. which says, that though our ruin is of us, our
help is not in us. Hence men in their natural state are said to be
without strength, incapable to deliver themselves from the wretched
state into which they are plunged by sin. Man is so deeply sunk
in the horrible pit, that it passes the skill and ability of men or
angels to pull him out. He cannot atone offended justice, or expi-
ate his sin. This deplorable state of man is revealed in scripture,
and savingly only to the elect, by the Saviour of sinners.
4. Christ reveals as a Prophet, that there is a way found out,
and a method laid down in the adorable depths of divine wisdom,
whereby poor sinners may be delivered from sin and wrath, and ob-
tain eternal salvation. For this discovery we are indebted to divine
revelation. Of this I have spoken under the covenant of grace.
416 OP cnnisT's PRornETicAL office.
And Christ, as a Prophet, teaches this article to his people so eflTica-
ciously, that they acquiesce iu this method of salvation.
5. He reveals to us that he is a full and sufficient Saviour, ahle
to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him, Heb. vii.
25. So that his own people cordially embrace him as their only
Saviour, and accept him as their sole Redeemer, looking for expia-
tion of guilt, pardon of sin, and peace with God, only from and
through him.
6. He teaches, that we must have union with him through faith,
or else we can have no benefit by his blood, 1 John v. 12. ' He that
hath the Son, hath life ; and he that hath not the Son of God hath
not life :' that is, he that is united to Christ is spiritually alive, and
shall not come into condemnation ; but he that is not united to him
is still under the curse, and the wrath of God abideth on him. It is
by being in Christ, united to him, that we escape condemnation,
Rom. viii. 1.
7. Christ teaches us, that we must believe in, and receive him as
our only Saviour and Redeemer, resting upon him alone for life and
salvation. Hence it is said, ' Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt be saved.'
8. Another part of the will of God that Christ reveals to us is
our sanctification ; and we are told, that ' without holiness no man
shall see the Lord.' Holiness of heart and life is absolutely to qua-
lify men for the enjoyment of God in heaven, as no unclean thing
can enter the celestial abode.
III. I come now to shew how Christ reveals this will of God for
salvation, namely, by his word and Spirit, jointly or together ; for
both are absolutely necessary for attaining that end.
First, Christ reveals this by his word. This is the external reve-
lation of it, without the knowledge of which no man can be saved.
The personal Word of God teaches us by his word written or
preached, or extraordinarily revealed. So there are three ways of
Christ's teaching by his word.
1. The word extraordinarily revealed, as appears from Heb. i. 1.
and Gen. iii. 15. which method having long ago ceased, we need not
enlarge upon it.
2. By the word preached ; which has been managed two ways,
wherein the kindness of the Divine Teacher appears,
(1.) By his own personal preaching, Heb. i. 1. in the days of his
flesh, when he went about the work of preaching the gospel to the
Jews, for which cause he is called ' the minister of the circumcision,'
Rom. XV. 8. putting a glory on the ministerial calling, by himself
performing that office. He spake as never man spake. An hea-
OP Christ's prophetical office. 417
venly aiithority and majesty appeared in his preaching, which at-
tracted the attention of his hearers, and forced them to acknowledge
that he was more than a human being.
(2.) By his ambassadors in his name. So he exercised his pro-
phetical office.
[1.] Before his incarnation, under the Old Testament, 1 Pet. iii.
19. instructing his church sometimes by extraordinary teachers, the
prophets ; sometimes by ordinary teachers, or both. And this he
did both before and after the word was written : for although before
the scripture the church was supplied by extraordinary revelation,
yet all were not so taught, but many were trained up by the exter-
nal teaching of the patriarchs ; as appears from Abraham's practice,
Gen. xviii. 17, 19.
[2.] After his incarnation, by the apostles, who are infallibly
guided, and to this day by ordinary ministers, by whom Christ still
exercises his prophetical office, Eph. iv. 11. and so he promised to be
with them. Mat. xxviii. ult. In this respect they have that awful
hedge set about them, * He that heareth you, heareth me ; and he
that dcspiseth you, despiseth me.' On this ground he obligeth peo-
ple to repair to them for clearing, from the word, the matters of
salvation, sin, and duty to them, Mai. ii. 7- ' They should seek the
law at his mouth ; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.'
3. By the word written, John xx. 31. 'These things are written,
that ye might believe,' &c. Thereby it is that the prophets and
apostles, and all the inspired writers, being dead, yet speak to us,
and Christ by them, to shew us the will of Grod for our salvation.
Thus was the church taught from the days of Moses, and in this
manner it is taught to this day. "We need not say, ' Who will as-
cend into heaven V or ' who shall descend into the depths ?' that is,
for the revelation of the method of salvation. The word is nigh to
us, it is among our hands. To that, Christ sends us to know his
mind, Isa. viii. 20. ' To the law and to the testimony ; yet not to
justle out men's teaching from it, Eph. iv. 11, 12.
Yet the word itself is not sufficient to teach us the will of God
for our salvation. Not -the word preached ; for even most of those
who heard him that spake as never man spake, were not bettered by
his preaching ; as appears from John xii. 37, 38. ' But though he
had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on
him : That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled,
which he spake, ' Lord, who hath believed our report ? and to whom
hath the arm of the Lord been revealed ?' Nor yet the word writ-
ten, for the same reason ; nor that extraordinarily revealed, as in
the case of Balaam. See 1 Cor. ii. 14. ' The natural man receiveth
418 OP cubist's prophetical office.
not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness unto
him : neither can he know them, because they are spiritually dis-
cerned.' There is a darkness over the minds of men which nothing
but omnipotency can remove. Therefore,
Secondly, Christ teaches his elect, who are tanght to salvation by
his Spirit, who joins internal illumination to external revelation.
* He opened the understandings' of the two disciples who were
going to Emmaus, 'that they might understand the scriptures,' Luke
xxiv. 45. Thus all the elect are taught of God, and so come to
Christ ; and thus have they always been taught. Ye must not,
however, understand these as two different ways of Christ's teach-
ing to salvation, in those that are capable of both ; for the word is
that by which the Spirit teacheth still. These God has joined, Isa.
lix. 21. 'As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord,
My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy
mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of
thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord,
from henceforth and for ever.' John xvi. 13, 14. ' When he the
Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall
not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he
speak ; and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me :
for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.' Thus the
teaching of the elect is begun, and thus it continues to the end.
Indeed the word hath a mighty power and efficacy upon the
hearts of men. It enlightens their mind, awakens their consciences,
convinces of sin, and can effectually convert and change them.
But this is only when it is managed by the Spirit's hand. All its
power and efficacy is from him. The virtue of the word is not from
itself : it doth not work in a physical way, as natural agents do, for
then the effect would naturally follow, unless it were miraculously
hindered. But this spiritual efficacy is in the word, as the healing
virtue was in the pool of Bethesda, of which it is said, John v. 4.
'An angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled
the water : whosoever then first after the troubling of the water
stepped in, was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.' This
efficacious power is not naturally inherent in the word at all times,
but only communicated to it at some special seasons. Many times
the word is purely and plainly preached, but no gracious effect fol-
lows. It proves but like the beating of the air, which makes no im-
pression upon it : none are awakened, convinced, or converted by it.
Neither is the power of the word communicated to it by the instru-
ment that manageth it : for saith the apostle, 1 Cor. iii. 7- * Neither
is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth ; but God
OP Christ's prophetical office. 419
that givetli the increase.' Ministers are nothing, they have no
power or strength of their own sufficient for such a purpose as this
is. The apostle doth not mean here, that they are useless instru-
ments, and altogether unnecessary, but that they are insufficient of
themselves, to i>roduce such mighty effects. It worketh not as it is
the word of man, hut as it is the word of God. Ministers may say
of the ordinary, as Peter said of the extraordinary effects of the
Spirit, Acts iii. 12. ' Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this ? or
■why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or ho-
liness we had made this man to walk !' All the power and efficacy
of the word is derived from the Spirit of the Lord. It is said, 1
Thess. ii. 13. ' When ye received the word of God which ye heard of
us, ye received it not as the word of men, but (as it is in truth) the
word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.'
When the word of God is set home by the Spirit, then it is mighty
to enlighten the minds, convince the consciences, and humble and
break the hearts of sinners. Then it proves as a hammer to break
the rock in pieces. And it is said, John xvi. 8. ' When he is come,
he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of
judgment.' The word made use of there signifies conviction by such
clear demonstration as compelleth assent. It not only convinceth
men in general that they are sinners, but it convinceth them par-
ticularly of their own sins, and of all the heinous aggravations of
them. It sets sin before the eye of conscience in all its aggravating
circumstances and fearful consequences, as committed against the
holy and righteous law of God, clear light, regrets and checks
of conscience, manifold mercies and favours, God's long suffering,
Christ's precious blood, many warnings of judgments, the reward
and wages whereof, by the verdict of a man's own conscience, is
death, even eternal death and damnation.
It may not be improper here to touch at the excellency of Christ's
teaching, and shew you that it far transcends the teaching of all
others.
1. He teacheth plainly and perspicuously. When he was upon
earth, and preached the gospel unto men, he taught them by para-
bles and similitudes, he clothed sublime and spiritual mysteries
with earthly metaphors, and thereby adapted them to the low and
dull capacities of men, and spake so familiarly about them, as if he
had been speaking earthly things. And, according to his own
example, he would have his ministers to preach, ' using great plain-
ness of speech,' as the apostle Paul tells us he did, 2 Cor. iii. 12.
and ' by manifestation of the truth, commending themselves to every
man's conscience in the sight of God,' 2 Cor. iv. 2. Yet he does not
420 OF chkist's prophetical office.
allow tlicm to be rude and careless in their expressions, pouring out
rude, indigested, mean, sordid, and methodical words, nauseous and
ungrateful to the ears of men. No ; a holy, serious, and grave ex-
pression suits the lips of Christ's ambassadors. And what man ever
spake more weightily, logically, and persuasively, than the apostle
Paul, by whose pen Christ hath admonished us to beware of vain os-
tentation, and swelling words of vanity ; but he would have us
stoop to the understanding of the meanest, and not to give the
people a comment darker than the text. He would have us rather
to prick their consciences than tickle their fancies, and break their
hearts rather than please their ears. Christ was a very plain
preacher, and he not only opened truths to the understanding, but
opened the understanding also to perceive them. He takes away
the vail from the heart, and causes a heavenly light to shine into
the soul, and darts a clear beam from heaven into the mind.
Christ's teachings are fully satisfying. The soul doubts no more,
staggers or hesitates no more ; but fully acquiesces in what Christ
teaches. It is so well satisfied therewith, that it can venture all
upon the truth of what it hath learned from him.' Ton may see
what is said with respect to this, Prov. viii. 8, 9. ' All the words of
my mouth are in righteousness, there is nothing froward or perverse
in them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right
to them that find knowledge.'
2. Christ teaches fully. He gives us a full and clear revelation
of the will of God with respect to all things which concern our hap-
piness, either in this life or in that which is to come. That is
spoken of Christ which we have, Psal. xl. 9, 10. ' I have preached
righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my
lips, 0 Lord, thou kuowest. I have not hid thy righteousness
within my heart, I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salva-
tion : I have not concealed thy loving kindness, and thy truth from
the great congregation.' He hath given us a perfect rule of faith
and obedience, in nothing defective or superfluous, but compre-
hending the whole duty of man. The scriptures contain the coun-
sels of Grod, Avhich he hath graciously sent to redress the miseries of
the fall ; and therefore it is said by the apostle, Acts xx. 27. ' I
have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.' He
hath kept nothing back from men that was needful to be known in
order to their salvation. Hence saith he, John xv. 15. ' All things
that I have heard of my father I have made known unto you.'
And it is said, 2 Tim. iii. 15. that ' the holy scriptures are able to
make us wise unto salvation.' Christ hath plainly shewed us what
course we are to take, that so we may obtain the friendship and
OP Christ's prophetical office. 421
favour of God here, and come to the enjoyment of him for ever
hereafter. Yon may see what David says, Psal. cxix. 97. ' 0 how
love I thy law ! It is my meditation all the day.' Christ by his
word gives us a full discovery of our duty in every state and condi-
tion that we can be in while here in the world ; and our relative
duties are fully revealed. See what is said by the apostle, Tit. ii.
11, 12. ' For the grace of God that bringeth salvation, hath ap-
peared to all men; teaching us, that denying ungodliness and
worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in
this present world.'
3. Christ teaches the will of God purely. His doctrine has not
the least dash of error mixed with it to allay and debase it. His
malicious enemies, who were continually lying at the catch, and
most observant of his words and actions, could find nothing to
charge him with. He preached the gospel most purely unto men.
He is the true and faithful witness. Rev. 1. 5. And he hath com-
manded his ministers to preserve the simplicity and purity of the
gospel, and not to mix and sophisticate it. Hence it is said, 2 Cor.
iv. 2. ' We have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not
walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but
by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's
conscience in the sight of God.' And says Paul, 2 Cor. ii. 17.
* "We are not as many, which corrupt the word of God ; but as of
sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, speak we in Christ.'
Here the apostle vindicates himself from the practice of false
apostles and corrupt teachers, who adulterated the word, and
mingled their own errors and inventions with it, and studied to
please men more than God, to advance their own temporal interests
thereby, more than the salvation and eternal interests of men's
souls.
4. He teaches the mind of God in a most sweet and affectionate
manner. His words make men's hearts to glow and burn within
them, as it was with the two disciples going to Emmaus, Luke xxiv.
32. It was prophesied concerning him of old, that ' he should not
cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street,' Isa.
xlii. 2. ' The Lord hath given him the tongue of the learned, that
he should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.'
Isa. 1. 4. How sweetly did his words slide into the hearts of his
hearers ? He drew them with the bands of love, and witli the cords
of a man. See how affectionately he speaks, Matth. xi. 28. ' Come
unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you
rest.' He discouraged none, nor upbraided any from coming to
him. He assured them, that all who were willing to come should
422 OF Christ's prophetical office.
be heartily welcome, and meet with a gracious reception. Ilis
great familiarity and free condescension to the most vile and despi-
cable sinners were often made the matter of his reproach. Such is
his gentle and sweet carriage towards his people, that the church is
called the Lamb's wife. Rev. xix. 7.
5. He teaches the will of God powerfully. It was observed by
the multitudes that flocked about him, that he taught them as one
having authority, and not as the scribes, Matth. vii. 29. They were
but dull and coldrife preachers ; their Avords did freeze as it were
between their lips : but Christ spoke with a divine efficacy and
power. There was heat as well as light in his doctrine. And so is
there still, though it be declared by the mouths of poor, weak, and
despised men. Hence says the apostle, 2 Cor. x. 4. ' The weapons
of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pul-
ling down of strong holds,' &c. It is still ' quick and powerful, and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow ; and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart,' Heb. iv. 14.
The holy apostle imitated his great master Christ : being filled with
his Spirit, he spake freely and home to the hearts of men. His
words made the consciences of sinners to shake and tremble in their
breasts. It is true, all faithful and able ministers are not alike
gifted ill this particular ; but yet there is a holy seriousness, a spi-
ritual grace and majesty in their doctrine, commanding reverence
and regard from their hearers.
6. Christ teaches the will of God infallibly. The wisest and best
of men may mistake, and lead others into the same mistakes with
themselves : but it is not so in the teachings of Christ ; for they are
not subject to error and mistake. His Spirit guideth men into all
truth, and into nothing but the truth, John xvi. 13. He is an uner-
ring guide, and a shepherd that will not suff"er his sheep to stray
and wander to their eternal destruction upon the mountains of sin
and vanity. All who are taught of Christ shall certainly arrive at
celestial glory : for he hath said, John x. 28. * I give unto them
eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck
them out of my hand.' His word is abundantly sufficient to make
men wise unto salvation. And saith the apostle, Gal. vi. 16. ' As
many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy,
and upon the Israel of God.'
7. The teachings of Christ are abiding teachings. They make
deep and indelible impressions upon the soul, which can never wear
out. The words of men evanish like smoke, and fly away : but the
words of Christ stick close by us. What he teacheth he writeth
OF CHETST'S PROrnETICAL OFFICE. 423
upon the heart. So it is promised, Jer. xxxi. 33. ' I will put my
law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.' It is usual
with gracious souls, whose understandings have been savingly-
opened by the Lord, to say many times afterwards, I shall never
forget such a scripture that once convinced me, and such a promise
that once encouraged and comforted me. To this purpose it is said
by David, Psalm, cxix. 93. ' I will never forget thy precepts ; for
with them thou hast quickened me.'
8. Christ teaches men the will of God in a saving manner. They
are all made wise to salvation who are taught by him. See what
the apostle Paul says of the holy scriptures, which contain this di-
vine revelation, 2 Tim. iii. 15, 16. ' The holy scriptures are able to
make one wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Je-
sus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous-
ness.' There is a great deal of other knowledge that goes to hell
with men. The pavement of that infernal furnace, as one speaks, is
pitched with the sculls of many great scholars. Many who have
learned heads, have graceless hearts. But life eternal lies in the
teaching of Christ. Hence says our Saviour, John xvii. 3. ' This is
life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom thou hast sent.' This is deservedly called ' the light
of life,' John viii. 12. And ' in this light' men ' clearly see light,'
Psal. xxxvi. 9.
You see then, from what hath been said on this head, that
Christ's teachings far transcend the teachings of all others ; so that
it may be justly said of him, as was said by his hearers of old, ' Ne-
ver man spake like this man.'
IV. I now proceed to shew for what ends Christ as a Prophet
reveals the will of God ; where I shall touch at the necessity of this
revelation in order to salvation.
The end of this revelation is for our salvation. Man by nature is
ignorant of true happiness, and of the way that leads to it. But
* the grace of God, that bringeth salvation.' i. e. the glorious gospel
of Christ, ' hath appeared unto all men, teaching us, that denying
ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously,
and godly in this present world.' The great design of the gospel-
revelation is to shew what course we must steer that so we may
escape deserved wrath and misery, and arrive at everlasting happi-
ness and glory. So that now we need not cry out like those of old,
' Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before
the high God? Shall 1 come before him with burnt-offerings, with
calves of a year old ? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of
424 OF chkist's prophetical office.
rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil ? Shall I give my first-
born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my
soul V Micah vi. 6, 7.
But here it may be inquired, Is not the light of nature sufficient
to inform us of the way of salvation ?
To this I answer in the negative. This revelation of the will of
God which we have by Christ, was needful to be superadded to that,
by reason of our natural darkness and blindness of mind. Men by
nature know not God ; their understandings are darkened through
the ignorance that is in them. The whole world is involved in
darkness. Though the light of nature tells us that there is a God,
and that it is our duty to worship and serve him, yet it cannot teach
us how we are to do it, so as to be accepted of him ; as is clear in
the case of the heathens, of whom it is said, Rom. i. 23. ' They
changed the glory of the incorruptible God, into an image made like
to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creep-
ing things.' They debased the adorable Deity, by entertaining un-
worthy conceptions of him, and performing such acts of worship to
him, as were not fit for a rational nature to offer, nor for the holy
and glorious Majesty of heaven to receive. Besides, they ascribed
his honour and attributes to the creatures ; not only to the sun,
moon, and stars, and to invisible powers which they supposed go-
verned and ruled these shining luminaries, but even to the most
despicable things in nature. Birds, and beasts, and creeping things,
were the objects of their adoration. Again, though the light of na-
ture directs us to many excellent moral duties, as to honour our
parents, to do to others as we would have them to deal with us, &c.
yet it cannot teach us to perform these duties in an acceptable man-
ner. The apostle tells us, that ' the natural man receiveth not the
things of the Spirit of God.' The mind of man by nature hath not
only a native blindness, by reason of which it cannot discern the
things of the Spirit, but also a natural enmity that it hates the
light; so that till the mind be healed and enlightened by Christ, the
natural faculty can no more discern the things of the Spirit, than
the sensitive faculty can discern the things of reason. It is as easy
for men to read the law in tables of stone, after they are pounded
and crumbled to dust, as to read true notions in lapsed and corrupt
nature. This is excellently described by the apostle Paul, Eph. iv.
17, 18. ' This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye
henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their
mind. Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from
the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them, because of
the blindness of their heart.' Ilere he terms it ' vanity of mind.
OF CHHISt's PROrHETICATi OFFICE. 425
darkness in the understanding, and blindness of heart.' All the
essential faculties of the rational soul are entirely corrupted ; the
mind wliich is the repository of principles, that noble faculty, where-
by we judge of things good and evil ; the understanding, that dis-
corsive faculty, whereby we collect one thing from another, framing
conclusions from the principles of the mind, and reducing these
principles into practical dictates ; and the heart, i. e. the will, con-
science, and aftections, which were to apply these principles, and
draw out these reasonings on the stage of life ; all are corrupted.
And the most ingenious nations for natural knowledge and civil
prudence verify the apostle's character in their brutish actions.
The Egyptians, who were men famous for wisdom and learning, and
propagated the sciences to the other parts of the world, were worse
than beasts in their worsliip. The Greeks, who counted their
Athens the eye of the world, were not more refined, when they
adored thirty thousand gods, and some of them infamous for murder
and adultery, and held three hundred and twenty-four different
opinions about the chief good, as learned men tell us. And the
Romans, thoiigh eminent for civil prudence, were not much behind
them, when they worshipped a fever, and dignified a strumpet with
the title of the Goddess of Flowers. And a great philosopher
among them takes notice of their ignorance of God in the various
notions which they have of him. Even those among the heathens
who for acts of justice and temperance might justly put many men
under the gospel to the blush, have had a thick darkness upon their
minds in regard of God. But here more particularly I shall shew
you several things absolutely necessary to be known in order to sal-
vation, wherein the light of nature is very defective. — As,
1. The fall of man, which is the first cause and original spring of
all our misery and woe. This is what the human understanding
could never find out by its most accurate search and inquiries. For
though the heathen philosophers were abundantly sensible of many
confusions and disorders in their souls, and of their woful subjection
to the rage and tyranny of unruly passions, yet they could never
find out the fatal cause, nor trace those streams to the true original.
They found indeed that something was amiss, and much amiss too ;
but from whence this disorder did arise, nature itself is wholly igno-
rant, and hath not so much as a regular guess without revelation.
And though Plato seems to have had some dark notices of man's
original and fallen state, when he expresses the one under the sym-
bolic image of the golden age under Saturn's reign, and the other
by the miserable iron image under the reign of Jupiter, in which he
lived ; yet we may warrantably conclude, that he had these disco-
2 E
426 OF Christ's prophetical office.
veries from tlie scriptures of Jewish tradition. Origin is of opinion,
that Plato understood tlie liistory of man's fall by his conversation
with the Jews in Egypt. This first cause of all our misery is only
made known by the scriptures. Men by nature know not the fall
cf Adam, which is the source and bitter root from which all their
woe and trouble springs. And the light of nature is too dim and
weak-sighted to i>ierce into the depths of Iniquity. It cannot ac-
quaint us with the fumes of sin, and with that inward strength and
power of it, which gives birth and nourishment to all those irregular
actions which flow from it. There was therefore a necessity of some
other light to penetrate the clouds of nature, and search into the
depths of the belly, and bring to view that habitual disconformity
of our natures to that rectitude required of us, and which was once
possessed by us.
2. The light of nature cannot acquaint us with the true and ade-
quate object of our rqligious worship, namely a Trinity of persons
in the glorious Godhead. This sacred doctrine is wholly supernatu-
ral, and entirely beyond the reach of the human understanding.
The most illuminated Philosophers that ever were in the world,
though they found out the causes of many things, and could dis-
course to excellent purpose concerning the magnitude, motions, and
influences of the stars, and the nature of plants and minerals, and
many other things which are vailed from vulgar minds, yet they
could never by their most accurate search and enquiry find out the
mystery of the Trinity. This grand article of the Christian faith
was altogether hid and unknown to them. "We find indeed that
some of the ancient philosophers had some dark and imjierfect tra-
ditions concerning the Trinity. Hence some think, that that great
Oriental maxim which Pythagoras brought with him into Greece,
touching God, viz. that he was hen kai polu, that is, one and many,
was but some broken Jewish tradition of the Trinity. And the
Platonists had also some weak and corrupt traditions of three hypos-
tases, or persons, which they called Triniti/. But these and the like
poor notices of the Trinity, it is most probable, Pythagoras first,
and Plato after him, derived originally from the Jews, if not imme-
diately, yet mediately by the Phoenicians and Egyptians. But
yet neither the Grecian, Egyptian, nor Phoenician philosophers, had
any sound and true notion of this great mystery ; as will appear
clear and evident to any sober mind, that considers what a world of
fables and contradictions they mixed with those broken discoveries
which they had received concerning it. Plato himself ingenuously
confesses this, when he said, that he had received many mysteries
from the ancients which he did not understand, but expected some
OF CirRIST's PROniETIOAL OFFICE. 427
interpreter to unfold them unto him. But we find the gospel sets
this mystery in a clear liglit. See Mat. iii. 17, 18. 1 John v. 7- 2
Cor. xiii. 14. all of which, and other scriptures, were considered
when I discoursed on the doctrine of the Trinity. The gospel gives
us a clear discovery of the i>ersons in the Godhead, as to their na-
ture and operations, and their combined and distinct acts and ex-
pressions of goodness. We find they all concur in the work of
man's redemption : the Father contrived it, the Son purchased it,
and the Holy Ghost applies it.
3. The light of nature cannot inform us of the way and method
of our recovery by Christ. The Avhole scheme of this amazing work
of redemption, was without the compass of our most searching fa-
culties. There are three things with respect to this, which I shall
touch at a little ; and we had never known any of them unless they
had been revealed. As,
(1.) The mystery of eternal election. From all eternity God
foresaw ihat man should fall, and thereby plunge himself into an
abyss of sin and misery, and that it would not be possible to recover
himself out of it, neither could he receive help from any creature in
heaven or earth ; and God not intending that the whole race of man
should perish, and become the eternal trophies of hell, set apart a
certain number in his eternal purpose and decree, whom he designed
to make vessels of mercy, and bring to the fruition of endless glory,
to the everlasting praise of the invincible efficacy of his sovereign
grace and rich mercy in Chris't. So the apostle teaches us, Eph. i.
4, 5, 6. upon which passage I formerly discoursed in the course of
this work. This is indeed a profound mystery, which could never
have been discovered by the clearest sighted reason : but the great
Prophet of the church hath revealed it unto us.
(2.) We had never known the astonishing method of redemption,
by which the elect are brought into a state of salvation, unless it
had been revealed : How that God from all eternity entered into a
covenant with his own Son, promising him assistance, a numerous
seed, and gi-eat dignity and glory, if he would undertake the work
of redemption, and free the elect from sin and wrath ; whereupon
Christ cheerfully condescended, and engaged to become the Sinner's
Surety, to pay the debt : he was content to stand in his people's
room, and submit himgelf to the avenging strokes of justice : he was
willing to become a curse, that they might receive a blessing ; to
become poor, that they might be made rich ; to be accused and con-
demned, that they might be justified ; and to endure the shock of
liis Father's wrath, that they might go free. Hence he is brought
in by the Psalmist offering himself as Sui-ety in their stead, Psal.
2 E 2
428 OF cueist's prophetical office.
xl. 6, 7. ' Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire, mine ears hast
thou opened : burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required.
Then said I, Lo, I come ; in the volume of the book it is written of
me.' He willingly yielded to all the conditions which were re-
quired for the accomplishment of that great aud difficult work.
He was content to take a body, that he might be capable to suffer.
The debt could not be paid, nor the articles of the covenant per-
formed, but in the human nature. He was therefore to have a na-
ture capable of and prepared for sufferings. Hence it is said, Heb.
X. 5. 'A body hast thou prepared me.' He behoved to have a body
to suffer that which was represented by those legal sacrifices where-
in God took no pleasure. And he took a body of flesh, surrounded
with all the infirmities of our fallen nature, sin only excepted. The
incarnation of Christ is a great mystery, which could never have
entered into the thoughts either of angels or men, unless it had
been brought to light by the gospel. Hence says the apostle,
1 Tim. iii. 16. ' Without controversy, great is the mystery of godli-
ness, God was manifested in the flesh,' &c. But of this I spoke at
large when treating of the incarnation of our Redeemer.
(3.) The light of nature could never tell us, that it is by faith in
Christ that we must be saved. ' God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should
not perish, but have everlasting life,' John iii. 16. He is set forth
to be a propitiation through faith in his blood. It is only through
faith in Christ that the elect can be saved. All that believe in
him are justified from all things from which they could not be
justified by the law of Moses. "We are commanded to believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ, and we shall have everlasting life. Now,
this way of salvation is above the strain and reach of natural rea-
son to attain to the knowledge of it. There are some seminal
sparks of the law in the hearts of men by nature ; some common
principles of piety, justice, and charity, without which the world
would soon disband, and fall into confusion. But there is not the
least conjecture of the contrivance of the gospel. It could never
have entered into the thoughts of the Israelites, that by looking to
a brazen serpent erected on a pole, the wounds should be healed
which they received by the bitings of the fiery serpents. And as
little could guilty man find out a way to satisfy divine justice by
the death and sufferings of a Mediator, and to heal the wounded
spirit by believing on Christ crucified. The most active and inquir-
ing reason could never have thought of the wonders of the incarna-
tion, and that a virgin should conceive, and a God be born. Nor
could it have dreamed of the death aud sufferings of the Prince of
OF cueist's prophetical office. 429
life, and of the resurrection and ascension of the Lord of glory.
Now, the human understanding, as bright and clear as it is corrupt,
yet it could not, by all the help of argumentation and reasoning,
arrive at the knowledge of it. Supernatural revelation was abso-
lutely necessary to discover it to the holy angels. The apostle tells
us, Eph. iii. 10. ' Unto the principalities and powers in heavenly
places, is made known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.'
This was a mystery locked up in the breast of God, of which the
angels seem to have had no thoughts, till the revelation of it was
made to the church. And even since that discovery, these wise
and intelligent beings have not a perfect knowledge of the whole
of the gospel-state ; for they are still making further enquiries :
' "Which things,' says the apostle, ' the angels desire to look into,'
1 Pet. i. 12.
4. The light of nature does not inform men of the evil there is in
the first inclinations to sin. The heathen philosophers allowed the
disorder of the sensitive appetite to be innocent and harmless, till
it pass to the supreme part of the soul, and induces it to deliberate
or resolve upon moral actions. For they were ignorant of that
original and intimate pollution that cleaves to human nature. And
because our faculties are natural, they thought that the first mo-
tions to forbidden objects were natural desires, and not the ir-
regularities of lust. Accordingly all their precepts reach no fur-
ther than the counsels of the heart ; but the desires and motions of
the lower faculties, though very culpable, are left by them indif-
ferent. So that it is quite evident, that there are many stains and
defilements in their purgative virtues. The law of God requires ho-
liness and purity in all the habits and dispositions of the soul, an
entire conformity to the will of God in all its various motions and
actings ; or else we can never be happy : for the scripture tells us,
that he must have clean hands and a pure heart, that would ascend
into the hill of God, and stand in his holy place ; and that it is only
tlie pure in heart that shall see God.
5. The light of nature and philosophy, improved to the highest
height, is very defective in respect of piety, and in many things
contrary to it ; as will appear from the following particulars.
(1.) By delivering unworthy notions and conceptions of the Deity.
Not only the vulgar heathens changed the truth of God into a lie,
when they measured his immense and incomprehensible perfections
by the narrow compass of their shallow imaginations : but the most
renowned philosophers among them highly dishonoured God by
their base and unbecoming apprehensions of him. For the true no
tiou of God signifies a being infinite, independent, the universal
2 K 3
430 OP Christ's puoi'iietical office.
Creator and powerful Preserver of Leaven and earth, and the abso-
lute Dii'cctor of all events ; that his providence superintends and
takes notice of all the motions and actions of his creatures ; and
that he is a liberal rcAvarder of those that seek him, and a just re-
venger of those that violate his holy and righteous laws. Now, all
this was contradicted by some of them. Some asserted the world to
be eternal, and others that matter was so, and in that denied him
to be the first cause of all things. Some limited his being, confin-
ing him to one of the poles of heaven ? others extended it only to
the amplitude of the world. The Epicureans totally denied his go-
verning providence, and made him an idle spectator of things here
below. They maintained and asserted, that God was contented
with his own majesty and glory ; and that whatever was without
him, was neither in his thoughts nor care ; as if to bo employed in
the various accidents of the world were inconsistent with his own
felicity. Thus, by confining his power who is infinite, they denied
him in confessing him. There were others who allowed him to re-
gard the great affairs of kingdoms and nations, and to manage
crowns, and sceptres, and matters of state : but to stoop so low as
to regard particular things, they judged to be as unbecoming the
divine nature, as for the sun to descend from the firmament to light
a candle for a servant in the dark. They took the sceptre out of
God's hand, and set up a foolish and blind power to dispose of all
mutable things. Some again made him a servant to nature, that he
necessarily turned the spheres. Others subjected him to an invin-
cible destiny, that he could not do what he desired. And thus the
wisest of the heathens dishonoured the Deity by their false imagi-
nations of him ; and, instead of representing him with his proper
attributes, drew a picture of themselves.
(2.) Philosophy and Nature's light is very defective as to piety,
in not injoining the love of God. The first and great command of
the law is this, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, soul, and strength.' Yet these philosophers speak little or
nothing of this, which is the principal part of natural religion.
Aristotle, for as clear-sighted as he was in other things, yet when
he discourses of God, is not only affectedly obscure to conceal his
ignorance, but even in his morals, where he had reason to consider
the Deity as an object most worthy of our love and obedience in an
infinite degree, he totally omits such a representation of him, though
the love of God is that alone which gives value and price to all
other virtues. And this is the reason why philosophy is so defec-
tive as to rules for preparing men for an intimate and delightful
communion with God, which is the effect of holy and perfect love,
OF Christ's puophetical office. 431
and the supreme happiuess of the reasonable nature. And if, in
the Platonic ijhilosopliy there are some things directing to this, yet
they are but coldly expressed, and so dark and obscure, that, like
inscriptions on ancient medals or marbles which are defaced, they
are hardly legible. It is the singular character of the gospel, which
distinguishes it from all human institutions, that it represents the
infinite amiableness of God and his beauty and goodness to us, to
excite and draw out our affections to him in a superlative manner.
It commands us to folloAv him as dear children, and presses us to
seek for those gracious dispositions which may qualify us for the
enjoyment of him in a way of friendship and love.
(3.) The best philosophers laid down this servile and pernicious
maxim. That a wise man should always conform to the religion of
his country. Socrates, who acknowledged one supreme God, yet
advised his friends to comply with the common idolatry, without
any difference in the outward worship of him and creatures : and
those who did otherwise he branded as superstitious and vain. And
his own practice was according to this advice which he had given ;
for he frequented the temples, and assisted at the sacrifices, which
he declared before his judges, to purge himself of the crime of which
he was accused. And Seneca, speaking of the Heathen worship,
acknowledges that it was unreasonable, and only the multitude of
fools made it excusable : yet he would have a philosopher to con-
form to these customs, in obedience to the law, not as pleasing to
the gods. Thus they made religion a dependant on the state. They
performed the rights of Heathenish superstition, that were either
filthy, fantastical, or cruel, such as the devil, the master of these
ceremonies, ordained. They became less than men by worshipping
the most vile and despicable creatures : and therefore God gave
them up to the vilest lusts, carnal impurity being a just punishment
of spiritual. Rom. i. 23, 24.
(4.) Philosophy is very defective in not propounding the glory of
God as the chief and ultimate end to which all our actions should
refer. Now, the philosophers had other views and designs than
this, in their precepts and dictates. As,
[1.] To make use of virtue as a means to gain honour and repu-
tation in the world. This was plainly discovered in their books
and actions. They were sick of self-love, and did many things to
satisfy the eye. They led their lives as in a scene, where one per-
son is within, and another is represented without, by an artificial
imitation of what is true. They were swelled with presumption in
having little merit, and a great deal of vanity. Now, this respect
which men have to the opinion of others, corrupts the intention and
432 OF Christ's ruopuETicAii office.
vitiates the action. It is not sincere virtue, but a superficial ap-
pearance, that is regarded ; for it is sufficient to that purpose to
seem to be virtuous without being so. And from hence he may dis-
cover that many of their most specious actions were but disguised
sins ; their virtues were as false as their deities. Or,
[2.] The end of philosophy was to prevent the many mischiefs
which licentiousness and disorders might bring upon men from with-
out, or to preserve peace and' tranquillity within, by suppressing the
turbulent passions arising from lust or rage, which trouble and dis-
compose the mind. This was the pretended design of Epicurus, to
whom virtue was amiable only as the instrument of pleasure. Or,
[8.] The highest design of philosophy was to propound and ex-
pose to view the beauty of virtue, and its charming aspect, as the
most worthy motive to draw and influence the affections. Now, sup-
posing that some of the heathens (though very few), by discovering
the internal beauty of virtue, were taken with, and had a love to it,
and ijerformed some things without any private respect, but for the
rectitude of the action, and the inward satisfaction that springs
from it ; yet they were still defective : for virtue is but a ray of the
Deity ; and our duty is not complete, unless it be referred to his
glory, who is the principle and pattern of it. In short, the great
Creator made man for himself: and it is most just and reasonable,
that as his favour is our sovereign happiness, so his glory should be
our supreme end, without which nothing is regular and truly beau-
tiful.
From all which the necessity of Christ's teaching, and of a divine
revelation, clearly appears.
But I must conclude this subject with some improvement.
1. From this docti'ine we may infer the continual necessity of a
standing ministry. Christ is gone into heaven, and will continue
there until the time of the restitution of all things ; but by his mi-
nisters and ambassadors he daily teaches and instructs us, and for
that purpose hath fixed them in the church by a firm and lasting
constitution, which shall remain to the end of the world, Matth.
xxviii. 16, 20. This is a great and valuable privilege, which we
ought highly to prize, and carefully to improve. This alone is suffi-
cient to counterbalance the greatest outward affliction that people
can meet with in the world ; and therefore we have that promise,
Isa. XXX. 20. ' Though the Lord give you the bread of adversity,
and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed
into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy tea^chers.'
2. The most rude and ignorant may be taught, seeing Christ exe-
cutes the office of a Teacher. lie can teach the most stupid, and
OP Christ's prophetical office. 433
give them an understanding to know the truths of the gospel.
Therefore ignorance can be no excuse to gospel-hearers, to whom
Christ offers himself as a Teacher. Let the most ignorant among
you apply to him, and he will teach you more than the most accom-
plished philosophers could ever attain by all their improvements of
natural light.
3. The weakest Christians need not be discouraged at the dulness
and incapacity which they find in themselves : for Christ can easily
reveal that to babes which is hid from the wise and prudent : ' The
testimonies of the Lord are sure (says the Psalmist), making wise
the simple.' Tea, the Lord delights to chuse such as you are, that
his grace may appear the more conspicuous in your weakness, 1 Cor.
i. 26, 27. Well then, weak but serious Christian, be not dis-
couraged, because you are not so docile and quick in your appre-
hensions of things as others about you. Many of your neighbours
may know more in other things than you do : but you are not inca-
pable of knowing so much as is necessary to the salvation of your
soul, and shall certainly know it, if Christ be your Teacher ; and
that is sufficient to make you happy for ever. Others indeed may
far excel you in the knowledge of other things : but if you know
Jesus Christ, and the truth as it is in Jesus, one drop of your know-
ledge is more valuable and desirable than a whole sea of their natu-
ral and political knowledge. One precious truth sucked from the
breast of Christ by faith and prayer, is infinitely better than ten
thousand dry notions, hewn out by racking and torturing the under-
standing.
4. Prayer is a proper means for the increase of knowledge.
Prayer is the golden key that unlocks that sacred treasure. When
Daniel was to expound that secret which was contained in the king's
dream, about which the Chaldean magicians had racked their brains
to no purpose, you see he addressed God by Prayer, Dan. ii. 17, 18.
and you see there what success he had, the secret was revealed to
him. Luther was wont to say. Three things made a divine, viz. me-
ditation, temptation, and prayer. And a holy man in our neigh-
bouring nation was wont to study upon his knees. And indeed
those truths which are got by prayer leave an unusual sweetness
upon the heart. In the use of means you should have your eyes
towards Christ, and pray that he would open your understandings,
and enlighten your minds with saving knowledge. This was Da-
vid's practice. See Psal. cxix. 18, 33, 34.
5. Learn from this what entertainment ye arc to give to the
word. Be not strangers to your Bibles ; but read them as Christ's
word to you, with reverence, faith, and love. Make conscience of
434 OF Christ's prophetical office.
attending on the preaching of the word, catechising, and the dis-
pensing of the sacraments ; and set yourselves to drink up the doc-
trine of Christ from himself as your Teacher. ^ If people believed
that Christ were exercising his prophetical office among them in
that way, they would not dare to treat these exercises as they do.
6. See here the abomination of the Quakers and other enthusi-
asts, who separate tlio Spirit from the word. To these may be
added those wlio take up the principles without ground from the
word, upon the credit of dreams, visions, voices, and impressions.
And much more those who do so upon their own light fancies, with-
out serious examination of them by the word. The practices of all
such are an abomination to the Lord ; they act in direct opposition
to Christ as the great Teacher sent from God ; and consequently the
light that is in them is darkness.
7. See also the abomination of formalists and legal professors,
who know nothing of religion but Do, do. Being unacquainted with
a due sense of their own emptiness and darkness in spiritual things,
and with the way of making use of Christ as a Prophet, they con-
tent themselves with the word without the Spirit, and what they
can hammer out of it on their own anvil, so separating the word
from the Spirit. And thus they live ignorant of the Spirit's irra-
diations on the word, and his clearing up scripture-truths to them ;
which are only had in the way of the soul's going out of itself and
its own wisdom to Christ, in a way of believing and depending on
him for inHueuces of light and knowledge. This is the neck-break
and ruin of many in our day.
8. Wo to them, then, that have the teaching of the word without
the Spirit. Ah ! do men think nothing to hear so much, and to be
illuminated by the Spirit in nothing ? Christ may be a Prophet to
other;?, but he cannot be one to such. Let them seriously consider
that awful passage, 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4. ' If our gospel be hid, it is hid to
them that are lost, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the
minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gos-
pel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
9. Receive Christ as a Prophet, and learn to make use of him
daily as such. Renounce your own wit and wisdom, and receive in-
struction from the mouth of this divine Teacher, who teaches to
profit. Be of a docile disposition, willing and inclined to be taught
of God : for the meek will he teach his way. And, for the Lord's
sake, refuse not to hearken to the voice of this great Prophet,
otherwise it will be your ruin. Consider the awful certification in
the 23d verse of the chapter where our text lies, ' And it shall come
to pass, that every soul that will not hear that Prophet, shall be
OP Christ's pkopuetical office. 435
destroyed from among the people.' Hear him, then, and ' beware
lest that come upon you which is spoken in the prophets, Behold, ye
despisers, and wonder, and perish,' Acts xiii. 40, 41.
10. Lasthj, Would you know if ye be taught of God ? I offer
yon the following marks.
(1.) Christ's teachings are very humbliug to the soul. Human
knowledge puffeth up ; but divine knowledge abaseth and casteth
down. It empties a mau of all conceit of his own worth, and
fills him with low and abasing thoughts of himself. So it was
with Job, chap. xlii. 5, 6. 'I have heard of thee by the hearing of
the ear : but now mine eye seeth thee. "Wherefore I abhor myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.' The same light of the Spirit which
discovers unto us the glorious greatness and majesty of God, and his
other shining perfections, discovers also, at the same time, the vile-
ness, baseness, emptiness and utter unworthiness of man, yea of the
best and holiest of men, as in the case of Isaiah, chap. vi. 5. ' Wo is
me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips ; for mine eyes have
seen the King, the Lord of hosts.' When Paul got a saving sight
of Christ, he calls himself the least of all saints, and the chief of
sinners. Were you ever deeply humbled before the Lord and made
to see your own emptiness and vileness ? Those who are puffed up
with pride and self-conceit, are strangers to the teaching of Christ.
(2.) The teachings of Christ deeply affect and impress the heart.
They fully reach the soul of a sinner, Hos. ii. 14. ' I will speak com-
fortably unto her;' or, as in the original, 'I will speak to her
heart.' When Christ sheweth unto men the great evil and danger
of sin, he so convincetli and toucheth the soul, that no creature-
comforts can yield any pleasure or sweetness, but prove all taste-
less and insipid, and have no more pleasure than the white of an
egg. And when he speaks peace to the soul, and intimates the
pardon of sin, he so comforts and refreshes it, that no afflictions or
pressures, however heavy and uneasy, have any weight or bitterness
in them at all. One drop of consolation from heaven sweetens a
whole sea of trouble upon earth, and fills the soul with joy unspeak-
able and full of glory. Says the Psalmist, Psal. xciv. 19. ' In the
multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my soul.'
(3.) The teachings of Christ are sanctifying and renewing : they
change and reform the heart, Eph. iv. 21, 22, 23. * If so be that ye
have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in
Jesus : That ye put off concerning the former conversation, the old
man, which is cornipt according to the deceitful lusts, and be re-
newed in the spirit of your mind.' You see here that holiness and
436 OF Christ's prophetical office.
purity is the eifect of divine teaching ; holiness both external and
internal, negative and positive. All the discoveries of God which
Christ makes to the soul have an assimilating quality, and change
it into his own likeness, 2 Cor. iii. 18.
(4.) All Christ's teachings are practical, issuing in cheerful obe-
dience. Idle notions and useless speculations are not learned from
Christ. As his creating words, so his teaching words, are always
attended with effect. As when he said, ' Let there be light, and
there was light ;' so when he says to a soul, Be thou humbled, it is
effectually humbled ; as in the case of Job, chap. xL 4, 5. ' Behold,
I am vile, what shall I answer thee ? I will lay mine hand upon my
mouth. Once have I spoken, but I will not answer : yea, twice, but
1 will proceed no further,' And when he says, Be thou comforted,
comfort immediately follows, Isa. Ixvi. 13. 'As one whom his mo-
ther comforteth, so will I comfort you : and ye shall be comforted
in Jesusalem.'
(5.) Christ's teachings are always agreeable to the written word.
The Spirit of Christ and the word of Christ never disagree, as John
xiv. 26. ' The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Fa-
ther will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring
all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.'
"When he speaks to the heart of a sinner, whether in a way of con-
viction, instruction, or consolation, he either makes use of the ex-
press words of scripture, or si>eaks to the heart in a language every
way agreeable thereunto. So that the written word becomes the
standard and touchstone to weigh and try all doctrines by, Isa. viii,
20. ' To the law and to the testimony : if they speak not according
to this word, it is because there is no light in them.' Whatever
differs from the scriptures of truth, must not pass for an inspiration
of God, but is a deluding sophism and insinuation of the devil.
(6.) You will have a great love to your teacher, and will be in
case to say with David, ' Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and
there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee,' Psal. Ixxiii. 25.
OF Christ's priestly office. 437
OF CHRIST'S PRIESTLY OFFICE.
Hebrews vii. 17- — Tho^l art a Priest for ever after the order of
Melchisedec.
It is evident from the context, that the apostle is spealcing of Christ
as a Priest, applying to hira this passage taken from Psal. ex. 4.
Thou art a Priest for ever, after the order of Melchisedec. Where two
things are proposed; 1. That he is indeed a Priest, whose business
it is to offer sacrifices. 2. That he is so after the order of Melchise-
dec ; noting thereby the similitude betwixt tlie two, the one being a
notable type of the other. This likeness consists not in an un-
bloody sacrifice, that of bread and wine, which Melchisedec brought
forth to Abraham when he returned from the slaughter of the kings
who had taken Sodom and Gomorrah; but, (1.) In the name, Christ
being the true 'King of righteousness,' and 'King of peace,' in
which respect Melchisedec was only a type of him, Heb. vii. 2. (2.)
In their original ; ver. 3. Melchisedec is represented as ' without fa-
ther, without mother, without descent, having no beginning of days ;'
nothing being recorded of his birth and parentage, he is like an
immortal. In this he was a notable type of Christ, who had no
father as man, no mother as God, was God himself from eternity,
and his goings forth were of old, from everlasting. (3.) In their
continuance, because Melchisedec's death is no where recorded, ver.
8.; but is represented as one who liveth. So Christ our High Priest
liveth for ever, to make intercession for us. (4.) In their ofiice,
Melchisedec was priest of the most high God, and king of Salem, or
Jerusalem. So Christ is a Priest, who ofiered himself a sacrifice to
God, and he is constituted King of Zion, of the church. (5.) In
respect of unity. Melchisedec is set forth as having neither pre-
decessor nor successor in his oftice. So Christ was set up to be a
priest from everlasting, and is represented as a lamb slain from the
foundation of the world ; and the sacrifice that he offered being per-
fect, there is no more occasion for any other priests ; and he has no
successor, having an unchangeable and perpetual priesthood. (6.)
In respect of dignity ; Melchisedec being proposed as greater than
Abraham. So Christ is greater than both : for he said, ' Before
Abraham was, I am.' Tlius Christ is a Priest, and that for ever.
In this ofiice is contained the grand relief of poor souls distressed
and perplexed with the guilt and burden of their sins. When all
other remedies have been tried in vain, it is the blood of the sacri-
fice of Christ, sprinkled by faith upon the trembling conscience, that
must cool and refresh, and sweetly comj)Ose and settle it.
438 OP Christ's peiestly office.
The doctrine arising from the text is,
DocT. ' Christ executeth the office of a Priest, in his once offering
himself a sacrifice to satisfy diA'ine justice, and reconcile us to God,
and in making continual intercession for us.
In discoursing from this doctrine, I shall,
I. Shew that Christ is truly and properly a Priest.
II. Explain the nature of Christ's priestly oflSce.
III. Make some practical improvement.
I. I am to shew that Christ is truly and properly a Priest. This
is evident, if we consider, 1. That the scripture holds him forth as
such, Psal. ex. 4. and Heb. v. and other places of that epistle. 2.
Because he exercises the acts of the priestly office, in offering sacri-
fice, and praying for his people. 3. Because he was typified by
such as were really priests, as all the Levitical priests, and Mel-
chisedec.
Quest. Wherein did Christ's priestly office differ from the priestly
office under the ceremonial law ?
1. The priests under the law were priests after the order of
Aaron : but Christ is a priest after the order of Melchisedec. "Who
this Melchisedec was, it is in vain to inquire, and cannot possibly be
known ; the Holy Grhost designedly concealing his genealogy, begin-
ning and ending, and descent, that so he might be a fitter type of
Christ and his everlasting priesthood. He was like a man dropt
from the clouds, and at last caught up again, and none knew how.
It is said of him, Heb. vii. 3. that he was ' without father, without
mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end
of life ; but made like unto the Son of Grod, abideth a priest con-
tinually.' Now, Christ was a Priest after the order of this Melchi-
sedec, not by a corporeal unction, legal ceremony, or the intervening
act of a human ordination, but by a divine and heavenly institution,
and immediate unction of the Spirit of life, in that extraordinary
manner, whereby he was to be both King and priest unto God, as
Melchisedec was, Heb. vii. 16. He was not a Priest after the order
of Aaron, because the law made nothing perfect, but was weak and
unprofitable ; and therefore was to be abolished, and to give place
to another priesthood. Men were not to rest in it, but to be led by
it to him who was to abolish it, Heb. vii. 11, 12. The ministry and
promises of Christ were better than those of the law ; and therefore
his priesthood, which was the office of dispensing them, was to be
more excellent too, Heb. viii. 6. For when the law and covenant
were to be abolished, the priesthood, in which they were established,
was likewise to die.
2. The priests under the law were sinful men, and therefore of-
OF Christ's priestly office. 439
fered sacrifices for their oavii sins, as well as for the sins of the
people, Heb. v. 3. But Christ was ' holy, harmless, nndefiled, sepa-
rate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens ; who needeth
not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own
sins, and then for the people's ; for this he did once when he offered
up himself,' Heb. vii. 26, 27. He was perfectly pure and holy, and
could stand before God even in the eye of his strict justice, * as a
lamb without blemish and without spot.' Though he ' made his soul
an offering for sin,' yet he ' had done no iniquity, neither was there
any guile found in his mouth.' And indeed his sacrifice had done
us no good, had he been tainted with the least sin.
3. The priests under the law were many, because they were mor-
tal ; death as an universal deluge was continually sweeping them off
the stage. But Christ as a Priest for ever, Psal. ex. 4. Heb. vii. 23.
* This man continueth ever.'
4. The priesthood under the law was changeable ; but Christ's
priesthood is unchangeable. The legal dispensation was to continue
only for a time. It was but like the morning star to usher in the
rising sun, which so soon as he appears in our horizon, it evanishes
and shrinks away, Heb. vii. 12. God confirmed this priesthood with
an oath, Psal. ex. 4. Heb. vii. 21. as well as a King. Those offices
which were divided before between two families, were both united
and vested in Christ ; this being absolutely necessary for the dis-
charge of his Mediatory undertaking, and for the establishment of
his kingdom, which being of another kind than the kingdoms of this
world, even spiritual and heavenly, therefore needed such a King as
was also a minister of holy things. And the apostle tells us, Heb.
vii. 24. that ' this man, because he continueth ever, hath an un-
changeable priesthood.'
5. The priests under the law offered many sacrifices, and of vari-
ous kinds, as lambs and rams, calves and bullocks, and the blood of
many beasts : but Christ offered but once, and that but one sacrifice,*
even the sacrifice of himself. So it is said, Heb. ix. 25, 26. ' Xor
yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth
into the holy place every year, with the blood of others ; (for then
must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world) : but
now once in the end of the world, hath he appeared to put away sin
by the sacrifice of himself.' And herein he excelled and far trans-
cended all other priests, in this, that he had something of his own to
offer. He had a body given him to be at his own disposal for this
very end and purpose. It is said, Heb. x. 5, 7, 10. ' Wherefore
when he cometh into the world, he saith, ' Sacrifice and offering thou
wouldst not but a body hast thou prepared me. Then said I, Lo, I
440 OF ciiuist's priestly office.
come (ill the volume of the book it is written of me) to Jo thy will,
0 God. By the which will we are sanctified, through the offering of
the body of Jesus Christ once for all.' He oii'ered up his body, and
not only his body, but his soul also was made an offering for sin,
Isa. liii. 10. We had made a forfeiture both of our souls and bodies
by sin. It was therefore necessary that the sacrifice of Christ
should be answerable to the debt which we owed to God. And
when Christ came to offer up his sacrifice he stood not only in the
capacity of a Priest, but also in that of a Surety ; and so his soul
stood in the stead of ours, and his body in the stead of our bodies.
6. All those sacrifices that the priests offered under the law were
types of the sacrifice of Clirist, which he was to ofl'er in the fulness
of time, they not being sufficient in themselves to purge away sin,
nor acceptable to God any further than Christ was eyed in them.
But Christ's sacrifice was the thing typified by all these oblations,
and is efficacious in itself for the satisfaction of justice, and the ex-
piation of sin, Heb. x. 1,4, 14. ' For the law having a shadow of
good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can
never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year con-
tinually, make the comers thereunto perfect. For it is not possible
that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. For by
one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.'
His sacrifice ^vas, invaluably precious, and of infinite efficacy and
virtue. And such it behoved to be : for it being offered as an ex-
piatory sacrifice, it ought to be proportioned and equivalent, in its
own intrinsic value, to all the souls and bodies that were to be re-
deemed by it. So that as one rich diamond is more in worth than
ten thousand pebbles, or one piece of gold than many counters, so
the sacrifice of Christ's soul and body is far more valuable than all
the souls and bodies in the world.
7. The priests under the law appeared before God in behalf of
the people, in the temple made with hands ; but Christ appeareth in
heaven itself. The Levitical priests offered sacrifices and made
prayers for the people in the temple ; and the high priest, who was
an eminent type of Christ, entered into the holy of holies, the figure
of heaven, once a-year, and that not without blood. This was
typical of Christ's entering into heaven itself in his people's name,
to appear for them before the throne of God. Hence it is said,
Heb. ix. 24. ' For Christ is not entered into the holy places made
with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself,
now to appear in the presence of God for us.' 1 John ii. 1. ' If any
man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous.'
OF Christ's priestly office. 441
8. The priests uuder the law had only the office of priesthood ;
but Christ is Prophet, Priest, and King.
II. Let us take a view of the nature of Christ's priesthood. The
office of the priests was to offer sacrifices, and to pray for the
people. Hence there are two parts of Christ's priestly office,
namely, oblation of the sacrifice, and intercession.
Of Christ's Oblation".
One part of Christ's priestly office was the oblation of a sacrifice.
Where we may consider,
1. The import of offering.
2. What was the sacrifice.
3. How often he did offer himself.
4. For whom he did so.
5. For what ends he did offer himself.
6. The efficacy of his one offering.
First, I am to shew what the import of offering is. It signifies
the voluntariness of Christ's sufferings, Eph. v. 2. ' Christ hath
given himself for us, an offering, and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-
smelling savour. He laid down his life of himself, that he might
take it again. ' He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a
sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.'
For,
1. Though he well knew his sufferings beforehand, and that
dreadful storm of the divine wrath and indignation that was to fall
upon him, and all the abuse, indignities, and torments, he was to
meet with from wicked men and on the cross, yet he did not with-
draw from that dreadful apparatus of a violent death when his
time was come ; he would not suffer his disciples, could they have
done it, to rescue him from the impending danger : nay his de-
livering himself up to his blood-thirsty pursuers, after he had
exhibited a remarkable instance of his divine power, in making
them fall to the ground with a word, John xviii. 28. was an evi-
dence, that he was nowise constrained, but a hearty volunteer in his
then intended offering. The cup of his sufferings was continually
before his eyes ; he never declined to drink of it : nay, he was
pained and straitened till he drank it to the bottom.
2. The strong cry he uttered immediately before his yielding up
his soul on the cross, was an evidence there was more than a na-
tural power attending him in that important crisis. He was no
criminal in the eye of God and scripture, and could not have been
put to death unless he had pleased, being the most high God, and
2f
442 OF Christ's priestly office.
Sovereign of men and angels, and therefore having the whole
creation at his command. The strong cry he then uttered was not
the effect of weakness or reluctance to part with his life, such as a
criminal may be supposed to give, but rather a shout of triumph,
proceeding from one who had spontaneously offered himself to such
a dreadful death, testifying before God, angels, and men, his joy
and exultation in having performed the arduous work he had of his
own proper motion engaged to achieve.
Secondly, Let us consider what was the sacrifice he offered up.
On this head it may not be improper to observe, that sacrifices were
of two sorts.
1. Some were eucharistical, or thank-offerings in testimony of
homage, subjection, duty, and service ; as the dedication of the
first fruits, the meat and drink offerings. By these the sacri-
ficer acknowledged the bounty and goodness of God, and his own
unworthiness to receive the least of his favours, rendered praise for
mercies received, and desired the divine blessing. But Christ's
sacrifice was not of this kind.
2. Some sacrifices were expiatory, for the satisfaction of justice,
and the purging away of sin. The institution of this kind of
sacrifices was upon a double account. (1.) That man is a sinner,
and therefore obnoxious to the just indignation and extreme dis-
pleasure of the holy and righteous God, and laid fairly open to all
the fierceness of wrath and vengeance. (2.) That God was to be
propitiated, that so he might pardon man. These truths are rooted
and deeply engraven in the natural consciences of men, as appears
by the pretended expiations of sin among the Heathens. But they
are more clearly revealed in sacred writ. Under the law, without
the effusion of blood there was no remission, to intimate unto us,
that God would not forgive sin without the atonement of justice,
which required the death of the offender : but it being tempered
with mercy, accepted of a sacrifice in his stead.
Of this last kind was the sacrifice of Christ, which he offered for
us, even a sacrifice of expiation. All this was requisite to a real
and proper sacrifice, concurred in his sacrifice. As,
1. The person offering was to be a priest. It was the peculiar
office of a priest under the law to ofter sacrifices. So says the
apostle, Heb. v. 1. ' Every high priest taken from among men, is
ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer
both gifts and sacrifices for sins.' In like manner Christ, that he
might offer this sacrifice, was called to that office, and made an
High Priest in the house of God ; as appears from Heb. v. 4, 5, 6,
and 10. He is called ' the Apostle and High Priest of our pro-
OP chtiist's priestly office. 443
fession ; and it is said, ' Such an High Priest became us, who is
holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.'
2. There was something to he offered, and that was himself.
He was the sacrifice that he offered up unto God. Our great High
Priest behoved to have a sacrifice answerable to the debt that we
owed to God ; and the debt was the forfeiture of both soul and body-
to the wrath of God, and the curse of the law : and therefore our
High Priest was to have a soul and body to suffer in as our Surety.
' He made his soul an offering for sin,' Isa. liii. 10. ' My soul,' says
he ' is exceeding sorrowful even unto death. A body hast thou
prepared me,' Heb. x. 5. And it is said, Heb. x. 10. ' We are
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once.
He himself bare our sins in his own body on the tree,' 1 Pet. ii. 24.
He took upon him our nature, that he might have a proper sacrifice
to offer. Christ was a sacrifice in his human nature. He suffered
in his soul and body. It is to be observed, that doing or suffering
belongs to the whole person. Hence the church is said to be re-
deemed with ' the blood of God,' Acts xx. 28. Yet the notion of a
sacrifice importing suffering, and the divine nature not being ca-
pable of it, he himself was the sacrifice indeed, not in the di-
vine, but in the human nature. Even as a murderer is said to kill
a man, though he kill not the soul. Now, that he suffered in his
body, appears from the history of his passion in the evangelists.
And his soul-sufierings also are evident from the same history. His
sufferings in his soul he himself testifies, when he says, ' My soul is
exceeding sorrowful even unto death.' These were the soul of his
sufterings, and far greater than those of his body. They consisted
(1.) In his being deserted of God, whereby all comfort was eclipsed
from his holy soul, Psal. xxii. 1. ' My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me ?' (2.) In the impressions of God's wrath on it, which
produced that bloody sweat in the garden, by which blood tran-
spired from his sacred body. God knew how to let him feel his
wrath as our Surety ; and yet was pleased with him as a Son. (3.)
In the assaults of the powers of darkness and spiritual wicked-
nesses, who assailed him with redoubled fury in that hour of dark-
ness. The prince of this world attacked him more fiercely then
than ever before.
3. There was an altar on which this sacrifice was offered : for it
is the altar that sanctifieth the offering, and renders it acceptable to
God, and useful to man ; and that was his divine nature. ' Through
the eternal Spirit,' says the apostle, ' he offered himself without
spot unto God,' Heb. ix. 14. and so by his blood purgeth our con-
sciences from dead works. For Christ as God sanctified himself as
2 r2
444 OF Christ's priestly office.
man, that so, through the virtue and merit of liis sacrifice, his peo-
ple might be sanctified also, John xvii. 19. There behoved to be
something to add an infinite value and efficacy to the snff'erings of
his humanity ; which could be nothing else but the divine nature.
The human nature sufl'ered, and the divine nature sanctified the
humanity ; and, by reason of this admirable union, and the reflec-
tion of the Divinity upon the humanity, what was done to the hu-
man nature upon the cross is ascribed to the whole person. They
' crucified the Lord of glory,' says the apostle ; and, ' God pur-
chased the church with his own blood.' It was this that made his
snff'erings acceptable and highly pleasing to God, whose justice was
to be appeased and satisfied ; and it was this that made them effica-
cious for man, whose happiness and commerce with God were to be
restored and his guilt removed. So that he had a human nature
that served for a sacrifice, and a divine nature wherein he subsisted,
from whence that sacrifice derived an infinite dignity and value.
Thus Christ was a i)riest in his person, a sacrifice in his humanity,
and the altar in his Divinity.
4. In a sacrifice the things off'ered were to be of God's appoint-
ment, or else it had not been an acceptable sacrifice, but will wor-
ship ; and no more a sacrifice on God's account, than the cutting off"
a dog's neck, or offering swine's blood, as appears by the law given
by Moses concerning free-will offerings, Lev. v. So that what
Christ offered was appointed and prepared by God. He prepared
him a body, that he might offer it for a sacrifice. It was a living
body, a body animated with a rational soul, which soul was sepa-
rated from his body in the offering ; and therefore he is said to
' have made his soul an offering for sin ;' and that soul and body
constituted his human nature. This was the sacrifice that was ap-
pointed of God for the expiation of the elect's sin. Hence says the
apostle, 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. ' Ye were not redeemed with corruptible
things, as silver and gold ; — but with the precious blood of Christ,
as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
5. The thing offered in sacrifice was to be destroyed. This is
essential to a sacrifice. Those things that were endued with life
were killed, that so they might be oftered to God in sacrifice, and
their blood was poured out, and the other parts of them, besides the
blood were burned with fire, either wholly or in part. And thus
was Christ sacrificed. His dying and bleeding on the cross, an-
swered the killing and shedding of the blood of the Levitical sac-
rifices : and his sufferings (expressed by the pains of hell) were
correspondent to the burning of these sacrifices. It is said, Heb.
xiii. 12, 13. ' Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his
OP Christ's priestly office. 445
own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore
unto him without the camp, hearing his reproach.' His sufferings
without the gate are held forth here, as answering the burning of
the sacrifices without the camp.
6. The person to whom the sacrifices were offered, was God, and
be only. It was gross idolatry to offer them to any other. Hence
they are called 'things pertaining to God,' Heb. v. 1. and Christ's
sacrifice was thus offered up to God, Heb. ii. 17. He performed the
office of a merciful and faithful High Priest in offering up himself
a sacrifice to God. God was the party offended by man's sin, and
whose justice behoved to be satisfied, Eph. v. 2. Here is a mystery
of wonders, where one party is the party offended, the priest, and
the sacrifice.
Thirdly, I come now to consider how often Christ did offer him-
self. It was only once, Heb. ix. 28. ' Christ was once offered to
bear the sins of many ;' and that one and once offering fully an-
swered the end of his oftering himself : for, says the apostle, ' by
one oftering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified,'
Heb. X. 14. This was the difference, as I have observed above, be-
tween the Levitical priests and our High Priest, that they offered
many sacrifices, which argued the imperfection of their ministry ;
but Christ only once, Heb. x. 14. just cited. As for the notion of
the sacrament's being changed into a sacrifice, as the Papists pre-
tend, there is no foundation for it : for there Christ is not offered to
God, but to us ; and it is no renewal of that sacrifice, but a solemn
commemoration of it.
Fourthly, I go on to shew for whom Christ offered himself a
sacrifice.
1. It was not for his own sins, for he had none ; but for the sins
and transgressions of others, Dan. ix, 26. ' The Messiah shall be cut
off, but not for himself.' He could not suffer for any sin of his
own ; for he was ' holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sin-
ners.' Though he made his soul an oftering for sin, yet he had
done no iniquity, neither was guile found in his mouth. As the
legal lambs were without blemish, so Christ was a Lamb without
spot. His extraordinary and miraculous conception in tlie womb of
a virgin was an effectual bar against original sin, and he had no
actual sin in the course of his life. He was infinitely holy as God,
and habitually holy as man. Every power and faculty of his soul,
and every member of his body, was elevated and raised to the
highest pitch of holiness. And he fulfilled all righteousness in his
life, and gave complete satisfaction to all the demands of the law ;
2f 3
440 OF Christ's priestly office.
so that he needed not, as the Levitical priests, first to offer sacrifice
for his own sin, and then for the sins of the people.
2. Clirist did not ofler up this sacrifice for the sins of fallen an-
gels ; for there was no sacrilicc appointed for them. Whenever
they rebelled against their sovereign Lord and Creator, they were
immediately expelled from the divine presence, and are kept in
everlasting chains under darkness to the judgment of the great day.
Christ took not upon him the nature of angels, hut the seed of
Abraham. He offered up the sacrifice of himself to make an atone-
ment for the sins of men.
3. Christ did not die a sacrifice for every man and woman in the
world. It is true, there was virtue and efficacy enough in his obla-
tion to satisfy offended justice for the sins of the whole world, yea,
and of millions of worlds more ; for his blood hath infinite value,
because of the infinite dignity and excellency of his person. And
in this sense some divines understand those places of scripture
where he is called the Saviour of the whole world. Yet the efficacy
and saving virtue of his sacrifice extendeth not unto all. For,
1st. It is restricted in scripture to a certain number, called some-
times the church of God, as Acts xs. 28. * Feed the church of God,
which he hath purchased with his own blood,' Eph. v. 25. ' Christ
loved the church, and gave himself for it.' Sometimes they are
called his sheep, as John x. 15. 'I lay down my life for my sheep.'
They are also called those that were given to him by the Father,
John xvii. 2. ' Thou hast given him power of all flesh, that he should
give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.' See also John
X. 26, — 29. In these places of scripture, and others that might be
named, you see that Christ's death is restricted to a certain number
of persons, exclusive of all others.
2dli/, If Christ would not pray for every one in the world, then
certainly he did not die for every one in particular. But so it is
that he excludes the reprobate world from the benefit of his prayer,
John xvii. 9. ' I pray not for the world, but for them whom thou
hast given me.' Both the parts of Christ's priesthood, his offering
sacrifice and his intercession, are of the same latitude and extent.
"We find them joined together in the scripture by an inseparable
connection, Rom. viii. 34. ' It is Christ that died, yea rather, that
is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also
maketh intercession for us, 1 John ii. 1, 2. ' If any man sin, we have
an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous : and he
is the propitiation for our sins. So that Christ intercedes for all
those for whom he satisfied offended justice : but he intercedes not
for the whole world, but only for those whom God hath given him ;
and therefore he did not satisfy offended justice for all men.
OP Christ's priestly office. 447
Sdly, Christ's death is an act of the highest love that ever was or
can be manifested to the world. * Greater love,' says he, ' hath no
man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.' And
says the apostle, Rom. v. 8. ' God commendeth his love towards us,
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.' Now, it is
plain, and cannot be denied, that every one of Adam's posterity is
not the object of Christ's dearest love : and therefore he did not lay
down his life for every one of them.
4:thli/, To affirm that Christ offered up himself a sacrifice with a
design and intention to save all mankind, great absurdities would
follow. As,
(1.) That Christ died for many, yea for innumerable multitudes,
who never heard of his blessed name, nor of the blessings and bene-
fits which were purchased by his death. — But this runs cross to the
strain and current of the scripture, which tells us plainly, that
there can be no salvation but by faith in Christ ; and that without
hearing of him there can be no faith, Rom. x. 14, 15, 16.
(2.) If Christ died for all, then this absurdity would follow, that
he died for those whom he knew to be children of wrath and sons of
perdition, whom God had passed by, and left to perish eternally in
that miserable condition into which they had plunged themselves by
sin.
(3.) If Christ died for all men, then he died for those who are
now roaring in hell, and scorched and tormented with unquenchable
fire, without any hope of redemption ; and so he bare the punish-
ment of their sins, and they are also now bearing and shall bear it
for ever themselves.
(4.) If Christ died with an intention to save all men, then he is
an imperfect and incomplete Saviour, who hath satisfied off"ended
justice for their sins, and purchased redemption by his blood, but
cannot apply it. He is only a true Saviour of those who are ac-
tually saved, and obtain salvation by him.
(5.) If Christ died for all men, then he died in vain for the most
part, and his death and sacrifice had little eftect ; for the generality
of men and women will perish eternally. There are many nations
in the world that never heard of Christ ; and even where the gospel
is preached, our Saviour tells us, that ' wide is the gate, and broad
is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many go in thereat ; but
that strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life,
and few there be that find it, Mat. vii. 12, 13. ' Many ai'e called,
but few are chosen.' So that Christ did not ofter up the sacrifice of
himself for every one in particular.
4. Christ died for the elect, and for all the elect, and none else.
448 OF Christ's puiestly office.
Ood designed to save some of tlie lost posterity of Adam, for tlie *
manifestation of the glory of the exceeding riches of his grace ; and
Christ died for all these, Eph. i. 4, 5, 6, Compare the following
scriptures, Acts xiii. 48. Rom, iv. 25. and v. 8. 1 Cor. xv. 3, 4.
1 Pet. ii. 21, 24. &c. from which we may be fully convinced that
Christ died only for the elect.
Fifthly, I come now to shew, for what ends Christ offered up him-
self a sacrifice. It was to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to
God. The grand design and intendment of this oblation was to
atone, pacify, and reconcile God, by giving him a full and adequate
satisfaction for the sins of the elect world. So the apostle teaches
us. Col. i. 20. ' Having made peace by the blood of his cross, by
him to reconcile all things to himself.' 2 Cor. v. 19. ' God was in
Christ, reconciling the world unto himself,' &c. Reconciliation is
the making up of that breach which sin had made between God and
us, and restoring us again to the forfeited favour and friendship of
Heaven. This was the design and intendment of Christ's sacrifice,
Eph. ii. 16. Now, Christ's sacrifice, abundantly satisfied these ends.
And therefore T proceed.
Sixthly, To prove that Christ gave full satisfaction to the justice
of God for the sins of all the elect. This is clear and evident,
1. From many texts of scripture which merit your perusal, as
Eph. V. 2. Heb. vii. 26, 27. x. 14. and ix. 13, 14.
2. Christ's resurrection from the dead proves the validity and
completeness of his satisfaction. As the elect's Surety, he satisfied
the law in his death; and having thereby paid all their debt, he re-
ceived an acquittance, and the discharge was solemnly published to
the world in his resurrection. He was released from the grave, as
from prison, by a public sentence ; which is an undeniable argument
of the validity of the payment made by him in our name. For
being under such strong bands as the justice and power of God, God
could never have loosed the pains of death, if his sufferings had not
been fully satisfactory to God, and received and accepted by him
for our discharge. And it is observable to this purpose, that the
raising of Christ is ascribed to God as reconciled, Heb. xiii. 20.
The divine power was not put forth in loosing the bands of death
till God was pacified. Justice incensed exposed him to death, and
justice appeased raised him from the dead. If he had not paid all
his people's debt by sacrifice, he had been detained a prisoner for
ever in the grave. But God having received full satisfaction, set
him free.
3. His ascension into heaven proves the completeness and all-
sufficiency of his sacrifice. If he had been excluded from the divine
OF Christ's priestly office. 449
presence, there had been just cause to suspect, that anger had been
still resting in the breast of God ; but his admission into heaven is
an infallible testimony that God is reconciled. Our Saviour pro-
duces this as the convincing argument by which the Holy Ghost will
effectually overcome the guilty fears of men, John xvi. 10. ' He
will convince the world of righteousness, because I go to my Fa-
ther.' Christ in his sufferings was numbered among transgressors ;
he died as a guilty person ; but having overcome death, and re-
turned to his Father again, he made the innocency of his person
manifest and apparent, and shewed that a complete righteousness is
acquired by his sufferings, sufficient to justify all those who shall
truly accept of it.
4. The many excellent benefits which God reconciled bestows
upon his people, prove the completeness of Christ's satisfaction.
(1.) Justification is a fruit of Christ's death ; for the obligation
of the law is made void by it, whereby the sinner was bound over to
eternal wrath and punishment ; Col. ii. 14. ' Blotting out the hand-
writing of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us,
and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.' The terms are
here used which are proper to the cancelling of a civil bond. The
killing letter of the law is abolished by the blood of the cross ; the
nails and the spear, which pierced his sacred body, have rent it in
pieces, to intimate that its condemning power is taken away. The
forgiveness of sin is the chief part of our redemption, and it is as-
cribed to Christ's blood as the procuring cause of it, Eph. i. 7- ' In
whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins.' The payment made by the Surety is a discharge of the prin-
cipal debtor i"rom the pursuit of the creditor. As Christ took away
the curse from his people, being made a curse for them ; so he takes
away sin from his people, being made sin for them.
(2.) The death of Christ procured grace and holiness for men.
"We made a forfeiture of our original righteousness and sanctity,
and were justly deprived of it ; and till once divine justice was ap-
peased, all influences of grace were suspended. Now, the sacrifice
of Christ opened heaven, and brought down the Spirit, who is the
principal and efficient cause of sanctification in men. The whole
world lay in wickedness, as a dead carcase in the grave, entirely
insensible of its horror and corruption. But the Holy Spirit in-
spired it with new life, and by a marvellous change hath caused
purity to succeed corruption. It had been a great favour indeed to
be delivered from the guilt of sin, that bound us over to everlasting
wrath and punishment : but it had not been a perfect and complete
favour, without our being delivered from the venom and filth of sin,
450 OP Christ's priestly office.
which had infected and corrupted our whole nature. If our guilt
were only removed, we had been freed from punishment ; but witli-
out the restoration of the divine image we had not been qualified
for heaven, and fitted for converse with God. It was necessary that
our souls should be washed, and our faculties renewed, to put us in
a capacity to serve God and enjoy communion with him. And this
is only obtained by Christ's death, Tit. ii. 14.
(3.) The receiving believers into heaven is a convincing proof of
the all-sufiiciency of Christ's sacrifice. The gates of the New Jeru-
salem were fast shut against sinful man, when he fell from his pri-
mitive holiness and felicity. God banished him from his presence,
and drove him out of paradise, his native seat, fencing it with che-
rubims to prevent his re-entry. But Christ hath set open these ever-
lasting doors, that believers may enter freely in, Heb. x. 19, 20.
This shews the validity of his satisfaction. For divine justice will
not permit that glory and immortality, which are the privileges of
innocency and righteousness, should be given to guilty and polluted
criminals; and therefore it was Christ's first and greatest work to
remove the bar that excluded men from the sanctuary of felicity.
Now, what stronger argument can there be, that God is infinitely
pleased with what Christ has done and suffered for his people, than
the taking of them into his presence to behold his glory ? The
apostle sets down this order in the work of our redemption, Heb. v.
9. that ' Christ being made perfect through sufferings, became the
author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him.' In short,
it is observable, that the scripture attributes to the death of Christ,
not only justification, whereby we are redeemed from wrath and
misery, that dreadful punishment which we deserved for sin, but
such an abundant merit also, which purchases adoption for us, and
all the glorious privileges of the sons of God.
From all which it is evident, that the sacrifice of Christ answered
all the ends for which it was designed. It gave full satisfaction to
the justice of God, and made up an everlasting peace between God
and sinners.
Quest. "What was it that rendered Christ's sacrifice so acceptable
to God, and so efiicacious for men ?
Ans. 1. The quality of his person derived an infinite value to his
obedience and sufferings. He was equally God, and as truly infi-
nite in his perfections as the Father who was provoked by our sins.
He was the eternal Son of God, equal with the Father in all things.
The fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily in him ; and he is the
brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his per-
son. His person was of as great dignity and honour as the Father's
OF cueist's priestly office. 451
was, to whom he was offered. Though there be a distinction of
order among the persons of the Godhead, yet there is no priority,
nor distinction of dignity. This made his sufferings of infinite and
eternal value. For though his Deity was impassable, yet he that
was a divine person suffered. And it is especially to be observed,
that the efficacy of his blood is ascribed to the divine nature. So
the apostle declareth. Col. i. 14. ' In whom we have redemption
through his blood, even the forgiveness of sin.' The efficacy of the
Deity mingled itself with every groan in his agony, and with every
pang and cry upon the cross. And as his blood was the blood of
God, as it is called, Acts xx. 28. so his groans were the groans of
God, and his cries the cries of God, and therefore of infinite value.
What he acted and suffered as man, was dignified and rendered effi-
cacious by his divine nature. From this arises the infinite differ-
ence between the sacrifices of the law, and the sacrifice of Christ,
both in virtue and value. This is set down by the apostle with ad-
mirable emphasis, Heb. ix. 13, 14. ' For if the blood of bulls and of
goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth
to the purifying of the flesh ; how much more shall the blood of
Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot
to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living
God ; by the personal union with the Deity, great dignity was con-
ferred upon the sufferings of the human nature.
2. The virtue and efficacy of Christ's sacrifice flowed from the in-
finite holiness and purity of his person. He was holy, harmless, &c.
He was as free from blemish, as he was full of the Spirit. The
spotlessness of his human nature was necessary to his being a sacri-
fice, and the union of the divine nature was necessary to his being a
valuable sacrifice. He had no sin naturally imputed, and he had no
sin personally inherent. He had no sin naturally imputed, because
he was not descended from Adam by ordinary generation, who in-
troduced sin into the world, and derived it down to all his pi'ogeny.
He was holy in all his offices, harmless as a priest, faithful as a pro-
phet, holy in his life and death ; no guile was found in his mouth,
nor any inordinate motions and desires in his heart. His sacrifice
could not have availed us, if he had been tainted with the least sin.
3. The graces exercised in his sufferings rendered his sacrifice
fragrant and acceptable to God, Phil. ii. 8. ' He became obedient
unto death.' His obedience ran with a cheerful and prevalent
strain through the whole course of his life. He submitted to a body,
fitted to receive all those strokes of wrath that we should have en-
dured for ever ; a body made under the law, subject to the obedi-
ence and malediction of it. He delighted to do the will of God in
452 OF CHRisa?'s pkiestly office.
human nature, Psal. xl. 6, 7- He came not to do his own mil, but
that of him who sent him. Whatever was ordered him by his Fa-
ther, that he spake, did, and suffered, lie cheerfully laid down his
life when the hour appointed by the Father was come. It was not
a simple, but an affectionate obedience : ' As the Father gave me
commandment, (says he), so I do,' John xiv. 31. His offering him-
self a sacrifice according to the will of God for our sanctification,
was the most significant part of his obedience. This rendered his
sacrifice highly acceptable. Again, his admirable humility is joined
with his obedience, as the cause of his exaltation, which was an evi-
dence of its fragrancy, Phil. ii. 8. That the Lord of glory should
stoop so low as to put himself in the room of sinners, eclipsing the
bright lustre and splendour of his glory, and shrouding under the
disguise of our infirm flesh, submitting himself to a harder piece of
service, and to deeper degrees of humiliation, than ever any crea-
ture in heaven or earth was capable of ; to descend from the throne
of his inaccessible light, and to expose himself to the rage and fury
of devils and men, without murmuring or impatience, to submit him-
self to an infamous death, endure the wrath of an offended God and
Father, whom he infinitely loved, shed his precious blood, and de-
scend into the grave ; this was an inexpressible and inimitable act
of humility, lower than which he could not stoop. Now, since hu-
mility renders men so pleasing to God, that he heaps upon them the
greatest testimonies of his favours, and richly dispensed to them the
gifts of his grace, it must needs render the Son most acceptable to
the Father in these his sufferings, and draw from him the greatest
testimonies and distributions of his favours, because it was the
greatest act of humility, as well as of obedience, that could possibly
be performed. Further, the high exercise of his faith, rendered his
sacrifice most acceptable to God. He had not one spark of infi-
delity, nor any the least grain of distrust in the goodness of God, in
the midst of his deepest sorrows. He suffered the torments of hell
for a time, without that killing despair that preys upon the inhabi-
tants of that dismal place. He had a working of faith under the
sense of his Father's greatest displeasure and confidence in his love,
Avhile he felt the outward and inward force of his frowns. He had
a faith of the acceptableness of his death for all his people, and
gave clear evidence of his confidence in the promise, for a happy
and glorious success, in his acting like a king, while he was hang-
ing as a malefactor upon the cross, distributing his largesses to the
poor thief, assuring him that on that very day he should be with
him in paradise. Both his Obedience to God in not turning his
back, and his trust in God for his help and assistance, are joined
OF Christ's priestly office. 453
together as the ground of his justiflcatioii, Isa. 1. 6, 7, 8. The light
of his faith was to be discovered in opposition to Adam's unbelief,
and his great humility in opposition to Adam's pride. By his active
and passive obedience, he glorified the holiness and justice of God ;
by his humility, the power and sovereignty of God ; and by his trust
and confidence, the divine faithfulness and veracity. All which
must needs render his sacrifice a sweet smelling savour to God, and
efficacious for men.
4. The completeness of Christ's satisfaction is grounded on the
degrees of his suff"erings. There was no defect in that payment
which he made. We owed a debt of blood to the law of God, and
his life was offered up as a sacrifice, otherwise the law had remained
in its full force and vigour, and justice had continued unsatisfied.
That a divine person hath suffered the punishment that we deserved,
is properly the reason of our redemption ; as it is not the quality of
the surety that releases the debtor out of prison, but the payment
which he makes in his name. The blood of Christ shed, and offered
up to God, ratifies the New Testament. In short, our Saviour, in
his death, suffered the malediction of the law, even all those degrees
of divine wrath and vengeance which the elect should have suffered
for ever in hell ; and his divine nature gave a full value, and put a
high price upon the sufferings of his human nature ; so that the sat-
isfaction proceeding from them had an intrinsic worth and value ;
and God, who was infinitely provoked, is thereby infinitely pleased.
5. The sacrifice of Christ was fragrant and efficacious, because of
the great glory and honour which he thereby brought unto God.
The glory of his Father was what he had in view, as his main scope
and aim in all his actions and sufferings, and that which he also ac-
tually perfected. The glory of all the divine attributes appeared
in him in its highest lustre, 2 Cor. iv. 6. They all centered in him,
and shone forth in tlieir greatest splendor, not only in his incarna-
tion, but also and chiefiy in his sacrifice. The mercy and justice of
God appear in combination here, and set oft" one another's lustre.
Mercy could not be glorified, unless justice had been satisfied ; and
justice had not been evidently discovered, if the tokens of divine
wrath had not been seen upon Christ. Grace had never sailed to
us, but in the streams of the Mediator's blood. ' Without the shed-
ding of blood (says the apostle) there is no remission.' Divine jus-
tice had not been so fully known in the eternal groans and shrieks
of a world of guilty creatures, nor could sin have appeared so odious
to the holiness of God by eternal scars upon devils and men, as by
a deluge of blood from the heart of this sacrifice. Without the suf-
ferings of Christ, the glory of the divine perfections had lain in the
454 OF Christ's priestly office.
cabinet of the divine nature without the discovery of their full
beams. And though they were active in the designing of it, yet
they had not been declared to men or angels, without the bringing
of Christ to the altar. By the stroke upon his soul, all the glories
of God flashed out to the view of the creature. All the divine per-
fections were glorified in the sufferings of Christ; his mercy, justice,
power, and wisdom. Here the unsearchable dejjths of manifold
wisdom were unfolded. Such a wisdom of God sinned in the cross,
as the angels never beheld in his face upon his throne ; wisdom to
cure a desperate disease, by the death of the physician ; to turn the
greatest evil to the greatest good ; to bring forth mercy by the exe-
cution of justice, and the shedding of blood : how surprising and
astonishing is this ! The ultimate end and design of Christ's sacri-
fice was the honour of God in our redemption. Christ sought not
his own glory, but the glory of him that sent him, John viii. 50.
He sought the glory of his Father in the salvation of men. Now,
that must needs be fragrant and acceptable to God which accom-
plished the triumph of all his attributes.
Quest. But did not those sacrifices which were in use under the
law satisfy the justice of God, and take away the sins of the people ?
To this I answer in the negative. These sacrifices were but sha-
dows by their institution, and were to have their accomplishment in
some other, and therefore could make nothing perfect. See what
the apostle Paul saith, who was once very zealous for them, Heb. x.
1. 4. 11. ' For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and
not the very image of the things, can never, with those sacrifices
which they off'ered year by year continually, make the comers there-
unto perfect. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of
goats should take away sins. And every priest standeth daily min-
istering, and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never
take away sins.' More particularly,
1. It was against common reason, that the sin of a soul should be
expiated by the blood of a beast ; that the sufferings of a nature so
far inferior could be a sufficient compensation for the crime of a na-
ture so much superior to it. The prophet spake the true reason of
mankind when he asserted, that the Lord would not be pleased with
thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil ; that he
would not accept of the first-born of the body as a satisfaction for
the sin of the soul, Micah vi. 6. A rational sacrifice was only fit to
atone for the sin of a rational being. There was no agreement be-
tween the nature of a man and that of a bullock. The nature that
sinned was also to suffer, and so to bear the punishment due by the
law. ' The soul that sinneth it shall die,' saith the Lord, Ezek.
OP Christ's priestly office. 455
xviii. 4. If God had been content with the blood of beasts for the
sins of men, then there had been no sufficient discovery of the se-
verity of his justice, the purity of his holiness, nor the grandeur of
his grace. It was inconsistent with the honour and majesty of God,
who had denounced a terrible curse upon all the transgressors of the
law, and published it with so much dread and awful solemnity, as
thunders and lightnings, fire and smoke, and terrible earthquakes,
to make so light of it, as to accept of the blood of a few mangled
beasts, in the room of the offender. Would God appear upon mount
Sinai with ten thousands of his angels to publish a fiery law, and let
all the threatenings of it vanish into smoke ? Can any in reason
think, that all those fearful curses should be poured out upon a few
irrational and innocent creatures, who had never broken that law ?
Can it ever enter into the heart of man to think, that, after so so-
lemn and terrible a proclamation, he would acquiesce in so slight a
compensation as the death of a poor beast ? None can possibly
entertain so mean and despicable thoughts of the infinite majesty,
justice and holiness of God, or of the vile and detestable nature of
sin, and the greatness of its provocation, as to imagine that the one
could be contented, or the other expiated, by the blood of a lamb or
a bullock. Our own consciences will tell us, that if God will have
a sacrifice, it must be proportioned to the majesty of him whom they
have offended, and to the greatness of the crime which they have
committed. If all the cattle upon a thousand hills were sacrificed,
and all the cedars in Lebanon were cut down for wood to burn the
offering, it could not be a sweet smelling savour to God. There is
an infinite disproportion between this kind of sacrifice and the glo-
rious Majesty of Heaven.
2. The repetition of these sacrifices shews their insufficiency for
the expiation of sin. For where the conscience is once purged, and
the remission of sin obtained, there is no more offering for sin, as
the apostle tells us, Heb. x. 18. But the repeating of the sacrifice
plainly intimates, that the person for whose sake it is repeated is in
the same condition now that he was in at the time of the former
oblation. The apostle tells us, that if the law could have made men
perfect, then these sacrifices would have ceased to be offered, because
that the worshippers once purged should have had no more con-
science of sins, but in those sacrifices there was a remembrance
again made of sins every year, Heb, x. 2, 3. Had the wrath of God
been appeased by them, why should the fire burn perpetually upon
the altar ? why should it be so fed continually with the carcases of
slain beasts ? As often as they were offered, there was a conscience
of sin excited in the presenter of them, and iniquity was called to
456 OP Christ's priestly office.
remembrance. The whole scene of the legal administration loudly
proclaimed, that the wrath of God against sin was not appeased and
that the guilt of the soul was not wiped off. If a man had presented
a sacrifice for his sin one day, and fallen into the same or some
other sin before night, he must have repeated his sacrifice for a new
expiation. Had there been any efficacy in them to purge away sin,
then they had ceased ; and there would have been no repetition of
them.
3. The great variety of these sacrifices shews their insufficiency to
take away sin. There were many gifts and sacrifices, bulls and
goats, calves and lambs ; which shews that no one thing was fit to
typify and represent the full expiation wrought by Christ ; whereas
he offered but one sacrifice, and by that perfected for ever them that
are sanctified. »As the application of many medicines shews their
insufficiency to cure a disease, so the many sacrifices and purifica-
tions under the law, plainly evidence that a full and efficacious pro-
pitiation for sin was to be sought elsewhere. If the great annual
sacrifice, which was the most solemn one in that whole institution
could not eflfect it, much less could sacrifices of a lower dignity. It
is from the repetition of this great sacrifice that the apostle argues
the insufficiency of them all, Heb. x.
4. God never intended that these sacrifices should expiate sin by
any virtue of their own. The great and glorious Majesty of heaven,
who was offended and provoked by sin, is truly infinite ; and to sa-
tisfy him the sacrifices must be infinite too. But none of those sa-
crifices under the law were so. Why then were they appointed ?
Not with any intention to purge away the sin of the soul, but the
ceremonial uncleanness of the flesh, as Heb. ix. 13, 14. where you
see the blood of bulls and of goats sanctifies to the purifying of the
flesh. The apostle compares these and the sacrifice of Christ toge-
ther, and shews that the one purified only the flesh, and the other
the conscience. It was not a moral guilt which they were intended
to remove, but only a ceremonial one ; as when one was defiled by
touching a dead carcase or a leprous person, which was reckoned a
defilement of the body, not of the soul. God hath often discovered
their weakness and insufliciency, and that they could not give him
recompense for the injury done him by sin. So Isa. Ixvi. 1. 'Thus
saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my foot-
stool : where is the house that ye build unto me ? and where is the
place of my rest ?' By the house or temple here is meant all the
Jewish economy, the whole lump of legal sacrifices. Though all
these were appointed by God, and had been used by his people for a
long time, yet he had no rest in them : they could neither satisfy his
OF OITRISt's mrESTIiY OFFICE. 457
justice nor vindicate tlie honour of liis law, nor conld tliey ever take
away sin, Ileb. x. 11. And therefore God rejected them, and tliey
were abolished and disannulled, for the weakness and unprofitable-
ness of them, Heb. vii. 18. Though they had been practised by the
Jews for so many ages, yet not one sin had been expiated by them
in all that long tract of time.
5. The insufficiency of these sacrifices for the satisfaction of di-
vine justice, and the expiation of sin, appears from the end and
design of their institution, which was to prefigure and represent a
more excellent sacrifice, that was able to do it effectually, even the
great sacrifice of Christ. They were but shadows of good things to
come, as the apostle terms them, and did typically represent a cru-
cified dying Christ as the substance : and whatever vii'tue they had,
it was not in or from themselves, but from their typical relation to
him whom they prefigured. They all pointed forth the sacrifice of
Christ, by whose precious blood, shed in the fulness of time, the sins
of the elect were fully expiated. God had no pleasure in these sa-
crifices, but only so far as they represented the sacrifice of Christ,
which effectually takes away sin, Heb. x. 6, 7, 8.
From what hath been said on this head, you see that those sacri-
fices which were in use under the law could not satisfy the justice of
God, and take away the sins of men.
Object. If Christ suffered for the sins of his people, then he that
was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, must be
accounted a guilty person, yea, even the most guilty of all others, as
having charged upon hira all the sins of an elect world.
Ans. There is a twofold guilt to be considered, namely', a culp-
able, and a penal guilt. He that commits the offence is under
culpable guilt ; and he who is obliged to suffer for the offence is
under penal guilt, though he did not actually commit it. Now,
Christ as our sacrifice was under this penal guilt ; the offences com-
mitted by us were charged upon him ; and by his voluntary under-
taking to be a sacrifice for us, he came under an obligation to suffer
for us, as if he had really sinned, though we only were the trans-
gressors. This is plain in the case of those legal sacrifices, which
were shadows of Christ. It appears from them, that these two sorts
of guilt may be separated, so that he who is not culpably guilty
may be penally guilty, and may justly suffer though he did not per-
sonally sin : for the sins of the people being laid upon these sacri-
fices, they were under penal guilt, and did justly suffer as if they
had sinned ; and yet they were not culpably guilty ; for they nei-
ther had sinned, nor were they capable of sinning.
Quest. Seeing Christ offered up his sacrifice to satisfy divine jus-
2 V.
458 OF Christ's priestly office.
tice, and he himself is God, how could he die and make satisfaction
to himself?
Ans. 1. God cannot be said properly to satisfy himself; for that
would be the same thing as to pardon sin simply, without any satis-
faction.
2. There is a twofold consideration of Christ, one in respect of
his divine nature or essence, in which sense he is both the object
against which the offence is committed, and to whom for it the sa-
tisfaction is made : and there is another consideration of Christ in
respect of his person, and economy or office ; in which sense he pro-
perly satisfied God, seeing he was, in respect of his manhood,
another and inferior to God. So he says, John xiv. 28. ' My Father
is greater than I.' The blood of the man Christ Jesus is the matter
of the satisfaction ; the divine nature dignifies it, and makes it of
infinite value.
3. It is not inconsistent with reason, that the Son of God, clothed
in our nature, should by his death make satisfaction to the Deity,
and consequently to himself. For in the according of two different
parties, a person that belongs to one of them may interpose for re-
conciliation, provided that he divests his own interest, and leaves it
with the party from which he comes. As for instance, let us sup-
pose two persons, a father and a son, both possessed of the supreme
power, and offended by rebellious subjects : It is not inconsistent
that the Son interpose as a Mediator to restore them to the favour
of the prince his father. And by this he also reconciles them to
himself, and procures pardon for that oft'ence, by which his own ma-
jesty was wronged. Now, this is a fit illustration of the great work
of our redemption, so far as human things can represent divine.
For all the persons of the holy Trinity were equally provoked by
our sin ; and to obtain our pardon, the Son, with the consent of tlie
Father, deposits his interests in his hands, and as a Mediator inter-
venes between us and his Father, who in this transaction is con-
sidered as the guardian of the rights of Heaven; and having
performed what divine justice required, he reconciled the world to
God, i. e. to the Father, himself, and the eternal Spirit. In this
case his person is the same, but his quality is different. He made
satisfaction as a Mediator, and received it as God ; which is no way
inconsistent.
Quest. Seeing Christ really suflfered for the sins of his people,
whether did he suflPer the same punishment that they deserved, and
which the law threatened, or only something equivalent to it ? It
would seem that Christ did not suflfer the same thing that the law
threatened, and which we justly deserved for sin : for then he must
OF CHRTSt's PniESTLY OFFICE, 459
have suifered eternal death. It was not only the first, but the
second death tliat the law threatened. Therefore Christ's temporal
death did not satisfy the law and justice of God for us.
There are very learned and pious writers on both sides of this
question. Yet I humbly think, that, without any inconvenience,
both may be affirmed in different respects. To clear this, you
would know, that the punishment which Christ endured in our
stead may be considered either as to its substance or essence, or
with respect to the accidental circumstances which attend it when
inflicted on the damned. Now, if we consider it as to substance or
essence, it was the very same which the sinner should have under-
gone. Man by his fall was liable to death, and to the curse and
wrath of God, and Christ hath borne this in the elect's room. But
if we consider it with respect to the accidental circumstances which
attend it when it is inflicted on the damned, then it was not the
very same, but a punishment equivalent to it. The accidental cir-
cumstances of this punishment as inflicted on the damned, are, blas-
phemy, rage, and an impotent fierceness of mind, which are not
appointed by the law, but are only accidentals, arising from the
wickedness and perverseness of their sjtirits. Now, our blessed Sa-
viour was not, nor possibly could be, liable to these. The great ho-
liness and sanctity of his person effectually secured him against all
these. Besides, the punishment that is inflicted upon the damned is
eternal, and attended with final despair, and the intolerable anguish
of a guilty stinging conscience. This is the never-dying worm that
gnaws upon their vitals. But Christ the Redeemer having no real
guilt, was not liable to the worm of conscience ; and his temporary
sufferings were equivalent to the eternal punishment of the damned,
and fully satisfactory to divine justice, on account of the infinite
dignity and excellency of his person ; so that he was not capable of
despair.
Thus it evidently appears, that Christ oflfered himself a sacrifice
to satisfy the justice of God offended by sin. And in order to con-
firm your faith in this important article, one of the fundamental
doctrines of our holy religion, let me again call your attention to
the following particulars, which 1 shall but barely mention.
1. Consider the necessity of this satisfaction. "Without shedding
of blood there is no remission. The justice of God, the nature of sin,
and the sanction of the law necessarily required it. And the event
manifests it ; for it is not conceivable, how, if sin could have been
taken away, with a bare word, the Lord would have fetched a com-
pass by the blood of his own Son.
2. Consider the truth of it. Christ did really and truly, by the
2 G 2
460 OF Christ's piuestly office.
sacrifice of himself, satisfy the justice of God for us. For he bare
the punishment due to our sins, Isa. liii. 5. He died for us, in our
room and stead, Rom. v. 6, 7- ; and not for our good only, -which
may be said of all the martyrs. Compare 1 Cor. i. 13. He bought
us with his blood and gave himself a ransom for our souls, and so
has taken away our sins in the guilt thereof. His sufferings were
the sufferings of a divine person ; and so, though not infinite in du-
ration, yet infinite in value. He was Lord of his own life.
3. Consider the perfection of it. He satisfied completely for the
sins of the people. His satisfaction fully answered the demands of
the justice and law of God. This is plain from the excellency of
the person suffering, Col i. 19. : this the apostle testifies, Heb. x. 14.
forecited ; and from the discharge he got in his resurrection, and
exaltation to the Father's right hand. Whatever is left to his
people to suffer it is not to satisfy the justice of God, but for their
correction, that they be made partakers of his holiness.
Having thus shewed that one end for which Christ offered up
himself a sacrifice to God, was to satisfy his justice, I proceed,
Secondly, To shew that another end, as a native consequence of
the other, was to reconcile elect sinners unto God. Here I shall,
1. Explain the nature of Christ's reconciliation.
2. Prove that reconciliation with God is the blessed fruit and
effect of Christ's death.
2. Shew what influence the death of Christ has on this.
First, As to the nature of reconciliation, several things are im-
plied in it. As,
1. A former friendship and favour. God and man were once in
good terms. There was a time wherein they met and lovingly con-
versed together. When Adam dropt from the fingers of his Cre-
ator, he was the friend and favourite of Heaven. He had the law
of God written on his heart, and a strong bent and inclination in
his will to obey it. In that state there was no place for reconcilia-
tion : for then there was no breach between God and his creature.
2. H implies an enmity between God and man. Man fell from
his primitive state of favour and friendship with Heaven, and joined
issue with the devil, God's greatest enemy. Whereupon the Lord
took the forfeiture of his possession, turned him out of paradise,
and hindered his re-entrance by a flaming sword. There is now a
dreadful war betwixt earth and iieaven. Men daily rebel against
God's laws, laboui'ing to beat down his interest in the world, and
employing all their powers and faculties, mercies and comforts, as
weapons of unrighteousness to fight against him. And he is an
enemy to them ; for he hates all the workers of iniquity, and the
foolish cannot stand in his sight. His wisdom, holiness, justice, and
OF OITPvIST's rHIESTLT OFFICE. 461
power, stand ready charged against them, and they are liaLle to his
eternal vengeance. This is the state wherein man stands with God
on the account of sin.
3. Reconciliation with God lies in his receiving rebels into fa-
vour, and issuing forth a gracious act of indemnity for all their
sins, and cancelling all those bands of guilt whereby they were
bound over to eternal wrath and misery. This great blessing for-
mally consists in his ' not imputing their trespasses nnto them ;'
2 Cor. V. 19. The forfeiture is taken off, and they are admitted
into his former friendship and favour. Now, this is twofold ; fun-
damental and actual. — There was a foundation laid for this recon-
ciliation in the death of Christ. This is the mean by which it was
purchased, and the chief and only ground why God lays aside his
anger. ' He made peace,' says the apostle, ' by the blood of his
cross.' And it is actual, when the offer of reconciliation is complied
with by faith. He sends forth his ambassadors, clothed with his
authority, to pray them in Christ's stead to be reconciled to God,
declaring his great willingness to receive them into favour ; and
when men embrace the offer of reconciliation, then God actually
lays aside his anger, and imputes sin no more to them.
Secondly, I proceed to prove that it is only through Christ that
sinners can obtain reconciliation with God. This is clear,
1. From the holy scriptures, where this great truth is expressly
declared. So it is said, Acts iv. 12. ' Neither is there salvation in
any other : for there is none other name under heaven given among
men whereby we must be saved.' And we are elsewhere told, that
* there is but one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus. And he is called the Saviour of the world, not
only by way of excellency, in respect of the great danger he saves
us from, but by way of exclusion also, in regard of the sole designa-
tion of his person to this office, exclusive of all others. ' If ye be-
lieve not that I am he,' says he, ' ye shall die in your sins,' John
viii. 24. He is the only person that was designed in all the pro-
phecies, promises, and types. He is the only Lamb of God that
takes away the sin of the world. He is the promised seed of the
woman, that was to break the serpent's head. The heart of God is
fixed upon him alone, and his resolution concerning the duration of
his office is immutable and unalterable. He hath summed up all
the dispensations of former ages in him, Eph. i. 10. All other
things were preparations to and shadows of him ; God, who had
various ways of communicating himself to men,«hath summed up his
whole will in his Son, and manifested and declared that all his
transactions with men did terminate in him.
2 G 3
462 OP Christ's priestly office.
2. The truth of this doctrine will appear, that none else was ever
fitted for the management of this work, God and men were to be
reconciled, and none but he that was God and man in one person
could be a fit day's man to lay his hand upon both. Had he been
only man, he had been incapable to satisfy offended justice ; and
had he been only God, be had been incapable of suffering. But
being God and man, he is fitted for both. Infinite satisfaction was
requisite to appease the anger of God ; for without this, guilt would
have remained : and none else was capable to give it, but Christ, in
regard of the infinite dignity and excellency of his person. It was
upon no other person that the Spirit descended like a dove to fur-
nish his human nature with all needful abilities for the discharge of
his trust.
3. If we consider that none else ever did that for us which was
necessary for our reconciliation with God. It was he that answered
the demands of the law, and silenced the roaring of vindictive jus-
tice. He only filled up the gap that was between God and sinners.
It was only Christ that interposed himself as a shelter between the
wrath of God and the souls of men. The prophet Isaiah tells us,
that ' he bare our griefs, and carried our sorrows, and that the
chastisement of our peace was upon him.' He received into his own
bowels the sword of justice that was sharpened and pointed for us.
He trod the wine-press alone, and none of the people were with him.
He endured the bruises of God, the darts of the devil, and the re-
proaches of men ; and would not desist till he had laid the founda-
tion of an everlasting peace between God and sinners.
4. If ye consider that none else was ever accepted of God but this
Mediator. The legal sacrifices were not able to make the comers
thereunto perfect, Heb. x. 1. They were only shadows of good
things to come ; Christ was the substance and complement of them
all ; and they were no farther regarded of God but as they were
types and representations of his Son. The daily repetition of them
was an undeniable evidence of their inability to effect the recon-
ciliation of man; but the blood of Christ typified by the blood
sprinkled by Moses upon the people, does it effectually. This was
a sacrifice wherein God smelt a sweet savour, and was highly ac-
cepted of him.
Thirdly, It remains to shew you what Christ did in bringing
about this reconciliation.
1. He undertook this work in the eternal transaction that was
between the Fathet and him, as I have shown you formerly at
large.
2. He purchased reconciliation by his death, and thereby pro-
OP cueist's priestly office. 463
cured the egress of the diviue favour to man. This was the prime
article in the covenant of grace, ' "When thou shalt make his soul an
oifering for sin, he shall see his seed,' Isa. liii. 10, God required
this sacrifice exclusive of all others, which were entirely useless for
the satisfaction of justice, though fit to prefigure the grand sacrifice
that God intended. It was by the death of Christ alone that recon-
ciliation was purchased to men, Rom. v. 10. Eph. ii. 13. and Col.
i. 21. And when he was upon the cross he cried, ' It is finished;'
that is, the work of redemption is accomplished, reconciliation is
purchased, I have done all that was appointed for me to do, the
articles on my part are now fulfilled, there remain no more deaths
for me to sufl^er.
4. He brings about an actual reconciliation between God and sin-
ners by virtue of his eflicacious intercession, Heb. vii. 25. Ilis
advocacy in heaven is the gracious spring of all divine communica-
tions. It is by this that he deals with God in the behalf of men ;
he leads every believer by the hand as it were unto the gracious
presence of God, bespeaking acceptance for them after this manner :
* Father, here is a poor creature that was born in sin, and hath lived
in rebellion all his days ; he hath l^roken all thy laws, and deserves
all thy wrath ; yet he is one of that number that thou gavest me
before the world began ; and I have made full payment to thy jus-
tice by my blood for all his debt ; and now I have opened his eyes
to see the sinfulness and misery of his condition : I have broken
his heart for his rebellions against thee and bowed his will into
obedience to the oifer of thy grace : I have united him to me by
faith, as a living member of my mystical body : and now, since he is
mine by regeneration, let him also become thine by a special accep-
tation : since thy justice is satisfied for his sins, let thine anger also
be turned away, and receive him graciously into favour.' In a
word, the reconciliation of every elect person with God, is actually
brought about by Christ : He opens their eyes, and lets them see
their sin and danger : he beats down the stubbornness and obstinacy
of their wills, and brings up their hearts to a full compliance with
the offers of peace made in the gospel ; and lie leads them to God,
and makes their persons and duties acceptable to him. Hence it is
said, Eph. i. 6. ' He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.
Before I proceed to the consideration of the second part of
Christ's priestly office, namely, his intercession. I shall make some
improvement of the doctrine of his satisfaction.
1. Here we may see the horrid and liateful evil of sin, which no
other sacrifice could expiate but the blood of the Son of God. As
the strength of a disease is known and seen by the quality and force
464 OF cubist's tkiestia- ofkick.
of tlie medicine that is made use of to cure it, and tlie virtue of a
commodity by the greatness of the price that it laid down to buy it ;
so is the matter here. The sufferings and death of Clirist express
the evil of sin far above the severest judgments that ever were in-
flicted upon any creature. The dying groans of our blessed Re-
deemer set forth the horrid nature of sin, and loudly proclaim how
hateful it is in the eye of an infinitely pure and holy God. How
much evil must there be in sin that made Christ to groan and bleed
to death to take it away ! It is strange to imagine how rational
agents should dare to commit such an evil, so freely and openly,
and that for trifles and perishing vanities, which are of no continu-
ance and duration. Can they escape, or can they possibly endure,
the wrath and vengeance of an incensed Deity ? If Grod spared not
his own Son, when he came in the likeness of sinful flesh, how shall
sinners escape, who are deeply and uuiversally defiled*? Can they
encounter with the fury of the Almighty, the very apprehensions of
which made Christ's soul exceeding sorrowful even unto death ?
Have they patience to endure and bear that for ever, which was in-
tolerable for Christ to bear but for a few hours, who had all the
strength of the Deity to support him ? If it was so with the green
tree, what shall become of the dry, when exposed to the fiery trial ?
0 what prodigious madness is it for men to drink iniquity like wa-
ter, as a harmless thing, wheu it is a poison so dangerous and
deadly, that the least drop of it brings certain ruin ? What des-
perate and monstrous folly is it to have slight apprehensions of that
which is attended with the first and second death ; even with all the
terrors and torments of hell, where the worm dieth not, and the fire
is not quenched ; where misery will continue in its full extremity,
while eternity runs its endless course ! Nothing but unreasonable
infidelity and want of thought can make men venturous to provoke
the living God, who is infinitely sensible of their sins, and who both
can and will most terribly punish them for ever.
2. This lets us see the strictness and inexorable severity of divine
justice, that required satisfaction equivalent to the desert of sin.
All the other demonstrations of it which God hath given to the
world, are nothing to this. God spared not his own Son. The
fountain of divine mercy stopt its course, and would not let out one
drop to Christ in the day of his extreme sorrow and sufferings. The
Father of mercies saw his dear Son sweating great drops of blood in
a cold night, and crying out with a mournful accent, ' 0 Father, if
it be possible, let this cup pass from me ;' and yet he would not
grant the request. 0 the inflexible severity of divine justice ! What
will ye do, sinners, when it falls upon you in hell ? If the blessed
OF Christ's priestly office. 466
Son of God cried so out, what will become of you ? IIow will im-
penitent sinners roar and yell for ever under the dreadful strokes of
incensed justice ! 0 what a dreadful thing must it be to fall into
the hands of the living God !
3. See here the wonderful love of Christ to poor miserable sin-
ners, and his great desire for the salvation of their souls. His love
here passeth knowledge. It infinitely transcends the reach of the
most illuminated understanding. What Christ suffered from his
birth to his death on the accursed tree, affords the most striking
instance of his great love to poor sinners. No example of such love
can be found among men. This matchless love of Christ should in-
flame our hearts to sing, as Rev. i. 5, 6. ' Unto him that loved us,
and washed us from our sins in his own blood ; and hath made us
kings and priests unto God and his Father ; to him be glory and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen.'
4. This doctrine affords us the strongest assurance that can be,
that God is willing to pardon our sins, and to be reconciled to us.
There is in the natural conscience of man, when opened by a pierc-
ing conviction, such a quick sense of guilt, and of God's avenging
justice, that it can never have an entire confidence in his mercy till
justice be atoned. From hence the convinced sinner is restlessly
inquisitive how to find out the way of reconciliation with a holy and
righteous God. Thus he is represented inquiring by the prophet,
' Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before
the high God ? Shall I come before him with burnt-ofterings, with
calves of a year old ? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of
rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil ? Shall I give my first-
born for ray transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my
soul ?' The scripture tells us, that some consumed their children in
the fire, to render their idols propitious to them : but all these
means were ineflfectual, their most costly sacrifices were only food
for the fire ; nay, instead of expiating their old sins, they committed
ncAV ones by them, and were so far from appeasing, that they in-
flamed the wrath of God by their cruel oblations. But in the gospel
there is the most rational and easy way propounded for the satis-
faction of divine justice, and the justification of man. Hence says
the apostle, llora. x. 6, 7, 9. ' The righteousuess which is of faith
speaketh on this wise. Say not in thine heart. Who shall ascend into
heaven ? (that is, to bring Christ down from above) ; or. Who shall
descend into the deep ? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the
dead). If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and
shalt believe in thine heart, that God hath raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved.' The apostle here sets forth the care
466 OP Christ's priestly office.
and anxiety of an awakened conscience. He is at a loss to find out
a way to esca])e deserved judgment : foi' sucb things as are on the
surface of the earth or floating on the waters are witliin our view,
and may easily be obtained ; but those which are above our under-
standings to discover, or our power to obtain, are proverbially said
to be in the heavens above, or in the depths beneath ; and it is ap-
plied here to the diflFerent ways of justiiication 'by the law and by
the gospel. The law propounds life upon an impossible condition.
But the gospel clearly reveals to ns, that Christ hath performed all
that was necessary to our justification, and that by a true faith we
shall have an interest in it. Christ's ascension into heaven is a
convincing proof, that the propitiation for our sins is perfect ; for
otherwise he had not been received into God's sanctuary, and ad-
mitted into the sacred place. Therefore to be under anxious and
perplexing inquiries how we may be justified, is to deny the value
of Christ's righteousness, and the truth of his ascension. By virtue
of the sacrifice and righteousness of Christ, the soul is not only
freed from the fear of God's wrath, but hath a lively hope of his
favour and love. This is expressed by the apostle, Heb. xii. 23.
when he reckons among the privileges of believers, that they are
come to God, &c. The apprehensions of God as the righteous Judge
of the world, strike the guilty creature with dread and terror ; but
is sweetened by Christ the Mediator, we may approach unto him
with a humble and holy confidence.
5. We must lay hold on this sacrifice, if we would be saved.
This is the only sacrifice that satisfied oft'ended justice, and no
other could do it. Therefore we must have recourse to this, if we
would have peace with God. Under the law the people were to be
sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice ; and so must we be with
the blood of Christ. It is said, Exod. xxiv. 8. that ' Moses took the
blood of the covenant, and sprinkled it on the people.' This sig-
nified the sprinkling of their consciences with the blood of Christ,
and their obtaining redemption, justification, and access to God,
through it alone. Hence our Saviour is described by this part of
his office, Isa. lii. 15. ' He shall sprinkle many nations.' Our guilt
cannot but look upon God as a consuming fire, without a propitiatory
sacrifice. All our services are lame and defective, impure and im-
perfect, so that they will rather provoke God's justice, than merit
his mercy. We must therefore have something to put a stop to a
just fury, expiate an infinite guilt, and perfume our unsavoury ser-
vices, and render them acceptable to a holy and righteous God ; and
that is only the sacrifice of Christ. This is full of all necessary
virtue to save us : but the blood of it must be sprinkled upon our
OP Christ's priestly office. 467
souls by faith. Without this we shall remain in our sins, under the
wrath of God, and exposed to the sword of divine justice ; ■ and our
misery will be heightened by our having the offers of Christ and his
grace. 0 ! it is a fearful thing for men to have this sacrifice
pleading against them, and this precious blood crying for vengeance
from heaven upon them ; as innocent Abel's blood cried to heaven
for vengeance against the unnatural cruelty of his wicked and in-
humane brother.
6. Hence see that Grod will never seek satisfaction for sin from
those that are in Christ Jesus. He gave full and complete satisfac-
tion to the law and justice of God for all the wrongs and injuries
done thereto by the sins of men, the sufferer being God, and his di-
vine nature stamping an infinite value upon them. Now, if the cre-
ditor receives full satisfaction for an offence done, or complete
payment of a debt due, by a debtor, from the hands of a surety,
neither law nor justice will permit him to ask any further satisfac-
tion or payment from the principal debtor. He can raise no suit or
action against the debtor, in regard he has fully satisfied him by the
action and deed of his surety. Law and jifttice are fully satisfied
by the obedience and satisfaction of Christ substituting himself in
the room of sinners, and making his soul an offering for them, so as
they can crave no more : therefore there can be no condemnation to '
those that are in him, and have taken the benefit of his satisfaction,
and present it to God, as theirs, performed in their room and stead.
Hence the apostle says, ' There is therefore now no condemnation to
them which are in Christ Jesus.' 0 seek to have your station in
Christ, and so you shall be placed beyond the reach of condemna-
tion. You may indeed, though in Christ, suffer chastisements and
corrections; yet these are the corrections and chastisements of a
Father, not of a Judge ; and intended for your good, to cause you
forsake sin, and enhance the value of the sacrifice of Christ, and
not for satisfaction to justice, whose highest demands have been
fully satisfied by the Surety in your room.
7. Hence see the certainty of salvation to, and that God will be-
stow all the benefits purchased by Christ on, those who believe.
Christ has fully satisfied justice for all those whom he represented
as a Mediator ; so that it has nothing to demand of the Surety, nor
of those whose persons he sustained in that undertaking. Hence
their salvation is infallibly secured ; and justice is bound to accom-
plish it. Mercy pleads for it ; justice fully satisfied cannot dispute
the validity of the claim, and cheerfully consents to their acquittal
from guilt and condemnation. Thus righteousness and peace kiss
each other in the absolution of the guilty sinner that believeth in
Jesus.
468 OP ciiuist's priestly office.
8. Bless God for the gospel, that discovers unto us this infallible
way of being delivered from condemnation and wrath, this sure way
to peace and reconciliation with -God, this precious balm for a trou-
bled conscience, and this effectual remedy for appeasing an angry
God. 0 prize the gospel, and the precious discoveries thereof, in
which all blessings are contained ; and accept of a slain Saviour as
your only Redeemer from sin and wrath, from hell and condemna-
tion ; and glory in his cross, and what he hath done, for your re-
demption and deliverance.
Of CnRiST's Intercession.
The second part of our Lord's priestly office is his interceding for
his people, viz. all those for whom he satisfied divine justice. As
his intercession is founded upon his malting satisfaction to law and
justice for their sins, and plainly supposes his having offered himself
a sacrifice in their name and stead, so the objects thereof must be
the same. As he died only for those for whom he intercedes, so
he intercedes for none but such as he shed his precious blood for, as
has been shewn in the preceding part of this discourse.
In discoursing further from this point, I shall shew,
1. The different periods of our Lord's intercession.
2. Wherein his intercession consists.
3. The necessity of it.
4. Deduce an inference or two.
First, We may consider the periods of our Lord's intercession.
And this may be taken up in a threefold period of time wherein it
was made, viz. before his incarnation, during the state of his humili-
ation, and now in his exalted state.
1. Christ interceded for his church and people before his mani-
festation in the flesh. Though this office be most eminently per-
formed since the union of the divine and human natures in the per-
son of Christ, yet it was also effectually performed by him before
his assumption of our flesh. He interposed then by virtue of his
engagement to make his soul an offering for sin; and he intercedes
now by virtue of his actual performance of that engagement. ' As
he was a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,' so by that
same reason he was an advocate pleading from the foundation of the
world. It was through the merciful interposition of the Son of God,
in consequence of the covenant betwixt the Father and him, that
deserved vengeance came not upon the world for sin at the first
commission of it. We find him in the Old Testament pleading for
the church long before he assumed the human nature, Zech. i. 12.
ov Christ's priestly office. 469
and the saints making use of Christ's name in their prayers to God
long before he was born, Dan. ix. 17. Thus his intercession began
in heaven thousands of years before his abode on earth.
2. He interceded for his people in his state of abasement and hu-
miliation, Heb. i. 7. ' In the days of his flesh he offered up prayers
and supplications to God with strong cries and tears.' This manner
of intercession was suitable and congruous to his abased state.
Though he was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief ; yet his intercession was not less prevalent
with God, for ' he was heard in that he feared.' Ye may see with
what majesty and authority he prayed on the behalf of all the elect,
John xvii. 24. ' Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given
me, be with me where I am ; that they may behold my glory which
thou hast given me : for thou lovedst me before the foundation of
the world.' Yea, even when he was under the sharpest agonies,
when he was bruised by God, and broken by men, groaning under
the wrath of the one, and the wrongs of the other, he forgets not to
put up petitions for his crucifiers, Luke xxiii. 34. 'father, forgive
them ; for they know not what they do.' And many of those who
imbrued their hands in his innocent blood, obtained a gracious par-
don through his prevalent intercession.
3. He is pleading now for his people in heaven, in his exalted state.
When he had ofl"ered up himself a sacrifice on the cross, he as-
cended into the most holy i)lace, and there prosecutes the same suit
that he had commenced on the earth. Hence says the apostle,
Kom. viii. 34'. ' It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen
again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh inter-
cession for us.
Secondly, I am to shew wherein Christ's intercession consists.
1. He does not plead for his people in heaven, in such a supplica-
tory and humble manner as he prayed for them when he was on the
earth. He falls not down upon his knees with a deep prostration of
soul, lifting up his eyes with tears and strong cries. Such humble
prayers and supplications were suited only to the days of his flesh,
when he appeared in the form of a servant, and was found in the
likeness of man ; but they do not become him now in his state of
glory, when he is stript of all those natural infirmities and marks of
indigence wherewith he was clothed in the world. But, positively,
2. His intercession lies in the following things.
1st, In his appearing in heaven in his people's nature, and on
their account. After he had shed his precious blood on the earth
for the expiation of their sin, he rose again from the dead, and as-
cended into heaven as their Advocate and Intercessor, that, by the
470 OF Christ's priestly office.
virtne of his meritorious sacrifice, he might answer all the charges
brought in against them, and sue out all the good things that be-
longed to them, Ileb. ix. 24. ' Christ is entered into heaven itself,
now to appear in the presence of God for us.'
Idly, In presenting the memorials of his death and passion as a
moving plea on their account. This was typified and prefigured by
the high priest's carrying the blood of the sacrifice into the most
holy place, and presenting it before the Lord. He was not to go in
before the mercy-seat without it ; and there was no interceding
but by virtue of it. So the whole power and efficacy of Christ's in-
tercession is founded upon his meritorious suiferings. His soul that
was bruised and made an offering for sin, and his body that was
wounded and broken upon the cross, are daily presented before God,
and will remain in the divine presence for ever, as an eternal me-
morial of his bloody sufferings. This has a powerful efficacy in pre-
vailing with God. Hence, by an usual figure, an interceding voice
is attributed to his blood, Heb. xii. 24. ' It speaketh better things
than that of Abel.' Christ's blood speaks, though not vocally and
with oral expressions, yet powerfully and efficaciously. It speaks
in the same manner that Abel's blood did, though not for the same
end ; this cried for vengeance upon wicked Cain that shed it ; but
that pleads for mercy and favour to all believing sinners. We have
a rare illustration of the efficacious intercession of Christ in heaven,
in the famous story of Amyntas, who appeared as an advocate for
his brother jEschylus, who was strongly accused, and in great dan-
ger of being condemned to die. This Amyntas having performed
great services for the state, and merited highly of the common-
wealth, in whose service one of his hands was cut off in battle, comes
into the court on his brother's behalf, and said nothing, but only
lifted up his arm, and shewed them an arm without a hand ; which
so moved them, that immediately they acquitted his brother. And
thus you have Christ represented visionally. Rev. v. 6. as standing
between God and us, ' And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the
throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders stood
a lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes,
which are the seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.'
That is, he was represented as bearing in his glorified body the
marks of his death and sacrifice ; the wounds which he received for
his people's sins on the earth, are as it were still visible and fresh
in heaven, as a prevailing argument with the Father to give forth
the mercies that he pleads for to them.
"idly, In presenting his will and desire to the Father on their be-
half, not in a humble and supplicatory manner, in the way of char-
OP Christ's priestly office. * 471
ity, but by a claim in tlie way of justice. He now pleads that his
people may be put in full possession of all the blessings which were
purchased for them by his bloody death. We find him pleading to
this purpose immediately before his passion, John xvii. 24. forecited.
He minds the Father as it were of the covenant that was between
them both, of his performing the condition required on his part, and
so claims the performance of God's promise as a debt due to his
meritorious obedience even unto death. He hath ' made his soul an
offering for sin ;' and therefore pleads that he may ' see his seed,
prolong his days,' and that ' the i>leasure of the Lord may prosper
in his hands,' Isa. liii. 10, 11.
Athly, In his presenting his people's prayers and petitions unto
God and pleading that they may be accepted and granted for his
sake. Their prayers and religious performances are both impure
and imperfect ; but his precious merit, applied by his powerful in-
tercession, purifies and perfects them. This skilful Advocate puts
them into form and language suited to the methods of the court of
heaven, and by his great interest there procures them a speedy
hearing. This was excellently typified by the high priest's going in
before the Lord with the blood of the sacrifice, and his hands full of
incense. After he had offered the sacrifice, without, he was to take
his hands full of those aromatic drugs of which the incense was com-
posed, without the vail, and put them in a censer of gold full of fire,
and cover the mercy-seat with the fumes of it. This was a figure of
Christ's intercession and offering up his people's sacrifices to God.
He is the alone altar upon which our sacrifices must ascend before
the Lord with a grateful fume : the incense of his merit must be
added to our prayers, to make them ascend before the mercy-seat as
a sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour. Hence he is represented,
Rev. viii. 3, as an angel standing at the golden altar which was be-
fore the throne, with a golden censer in his hand, offering up the
prayers of atl the saints, perfuming them with the incense that was
given him. By the much incense mentioned here, we are to under-
stand the mighty quantity of merit and the great power of his inter-
cession, which was a sweet savour to all his people's sacrifices, and
renders them acceptable to God.
bthJii, In his answering all the bills of indictment which are
brought in against them. Many times a believer is brought in as
an arraigned criminal before the divine tribunal, wliere Satan ap-
pears as the accuser, brings in the charge of sin, pleads the righte-
ousness of the law, solicits for judgment upon his accusations, and
for the execution of the curse due to the crime. The justice of God
calls for vengeance, and conscience thunders out nothing but hell
472 ' OP Christ's priestly office,
and -wratli. Now, while the bolicrer is in these dismal circnra-
stances, Christ steps in and answers the charge. He pleads the effi-
cacy of his merit against the greatness of the believing sinner's
crimes, and his satisfaction to justice by the death of the cross
against all the demands and challenges of the law. And thus the
sentence of condemnation due unto the sinner for his sin is averted,
and a sentence of absolution is pronounced, upon the merit and plea
of this powerful Intercessor. Hence we find the apostle glorying in
this, Rom. viii. 33, 34. ' Who shall lay any thing to the charge of
God's elect ? It is God that justifieth : who is he that condemneth ?
It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at
the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.' Satan
may accuse believers ; but Christ can soon silence him. Thus, when
Joshua the high priest stood before the Lord in filthy garments,
Satan stood at his right hand to accuse him ; but the angel, namely,
the angel of the covenant, Jesus Christ, interposed, saying, ' The
Lord rebuke thee, 0 Satan,' Zech. iii. 1, 2. Though their garments
be filthy, yet Christ can take them away, and clothe them with
change of raiment. Though Satan be always ready to resist them,
yet Christ stands always at the right-hand of God in heaven, to
plead for them, and silence Satan.
Thirdly, I shall shew some of the grounds or reasons of our High
Priest's intercession.
1. Christ intercedes for his people, because he had a commission,
a call, and command from the Father, for this purpose. Is. xlii. 6.
' I the Lord have called thee in righteousness.' So far was our
mighty intercessor from engaging in this service as an intruder or
usurper, that he entered upon it under the warrant of Heaven's
commission. The Lord called him to be a priest. For verily ' he
glorified not himself, to be made an High priest ; but he that said
unto him, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee,' Heb. v.
5. And as the Lord called him to be a priest, so to all the acts of
the priestly office. He called him to make his soul an offering for
sin, to pour out his life unto death, and to shed his blood for the
satisfaction of offended justice. In a word, he called him to make
intercession for transgressors. For says the Lord, ' I will cause
him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me.'
2. He intercedes for his people, because they were given him for
this end, John xvii. 6. ' Thine they were, and thou gavest them me.'
The elect that the Father gave to Christ were his own three ways.
They were creatures, and therefore their life and being were derived
from him. They were criminals, and therefore their life and being
were forfeited to him. They were chosen, and therefore their liv-
OP Christ's priestly office. 473
•
ing and being were designed for liim. They were given to Christ
that the election of grace might not be frustrated, that none of the
little ones might perish. Yea they were given him, that the under-
taking of Christ might not be fruitless ; for they were given him as
his seed, in whom he should see of the travail of his soul, and be
satisfied, and consequently might not spend his strength and shed
his blood in vain. Now, because the elect were thus given to Christ,
therefore he intercedes for them, John xvii. 9, ' I pray for them :
I pray not for the world but for them which thou hast given me, for
they are thine.
3. He intercedes for his people, because it is a special part of his
priestly office to do so. As the high priest under the law was not
only to slay and otter the sacrifice in the outer part of the taber-
nacle, on the anniversary day of expiation, but to enter with the
fresh blood into the sanctuary, and sprinkle it seven times ; and not
only so, but was to bring a censer full of burning coals oft' the altar,
with incense in his hands, to be put upon the fire before the Lord
within the vail, that so the cloud in the incense might cover the
mercy-seat : in like manner, after our great High Priest had offered
himself a sacrifice to Grod in his bloody death, he entered into hea-
ven, not only with his blood, but with the incense of his prayers, as
a cloud about the mercy-seat, to preserve by his life the salvation
which he had purchased by his death. Hence the apostle assures
us, that our salvation depends upon his intercession, and his inter-
cession upon his priesthood, Heb. vii. 24, 25. ' This man, because he
continucth ever, luith an unchangeable priesthood. "Wherefore he
is able also to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by
him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.'
4. He intercedes for his people, because he was their propitiation ;
for the efficacy of his plea depends upon the value and virtue of his
sacrifice. As the high priest under the law could not enter into the
holy of holies* till by the slaying of the sacrifice he had blood to
carry with him : so no more could our Priest be admitted to solicit
at\he throne of grace, till by his death he had satisfied the tribunal
of justice. Thus, because he paid the debt as our Surety, he is fit to
plead the payment as our Attorney. What he finished on earth, he
continually presents in heaven. By shedding his blood he made ex-
piation, and by presenting it he makes intercession. In the one he
prepared the remedy, and in the other he applies it.
5. He intercedes for his people, because his doing so is one of the
great ends of his ascension and session at the right hand of God.
In his incarnation he came down from the Father to acquaint us
with his gracious purposes, and how far he had agreed with God in
2 ri
474 OK Christ's priestly office.
our behalf; and at his ascension ho went from us to the Father, to
sue out the benefits which he had so dearly purchased. He drew up
an answer upon the cross to the bill that sin, by virtue of the law,
had drawn against us, and ascended to heaven as an Advocate to
plead that answer upon his throne, and to rejoin to all the replies
against it. And tlierefore the apostle tells us, that he is ' entered
into heaven, to appear in the presence of God for us,' Heb. ix. 24.
6. He intercedes for his people, because of that matchless and
amazing love which he bears to them. He loves them with a love
infinitely transcending the reach of human or angelic conception ;
he loves them with a love that knows neither height nor depth,
breadth nor length, but is absolutely incomprehensible. His love to
them brought him down from heaven, and made him willingly un-
dergo all those sorrows and sufteriugs, which like impetuous torrents
poured in upon him. And certainly, seeing in his love and in his
pity he purchased eternal redemption for them, he will never cease
to plead for the application of it to them. Seeing in such plentiful
streams he shed his precious blood to save them, it is not to be ima-
gined that he will spare his prayers for them.
7. He intercedes for his people, because this service of love is
that wherein he takes the greatest delight and pleasure. Before
time existed, his delights were with the sons of men ; and when the
fulness of time did dawn, he said, ' Lo, I come,' &c. He had a de-
light to live with the sons of men, and to die for them. And no
sooner does he enter heaven after his death and resurrection, but
there he delights to act on their account, to plead their cause, and
to intercede for all the blessings of his purchase to them. This is
the will of the Father, and he delights to do it.
I conclude all with an inference or two.
1. How wonderful is the love of God in appointing an Intercessor
for us, not an angel, but his own beloved Son ! Were we left to
ovrselves, and to our own pleas, our least sins would ruin us, and
all the grounds of intercession we could plead upon would be rejec-
ted, as unwortliy of acceptance before the throne of God.
2. How wonderful is the love of our Redeemer, in condescending
to act so friendly a part to us, notwithstanding all our unworthiness
and foul miscarriages against him ! How should it fill our hearts
with wonder, that he who is our Judge, should take upon him to
manage our cause in the court of heaven ; that he who has a mouth
to condemn us, and wrath to consume us for our sins, should bind
the arms of his wrath, and employ his tongue to solicit our cause
in the court of heaven ; that he who has a mouth to condemn us,
and wrath to consume us for our sins, should bind the arms of his
OF Christ's kingly office. 475
wrath, and employ his tongue to solicit our cause and procure us the
richest blessings !
3. Then true believers have a friend in the court of heaven, who
is agenting their cause, managing their concerns, and will make all
things work together ror their good. Whatever their cause be, and
however fearful they may be about the issue of it, all shall go right
at length, through the interest of their mighty Intercessor.
4. Believers cannot finally miscarry, and utterly fall away : for
they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
Their Redeemer ever liveth to make intercession for them. So that
neither their own sins, nor all the temptations of Satan, nor the
frowns or allurements of the world, shall ever prevail to make them
fall from their steadfastness, or from the favour of God : for Christ,
as their High Priest, hath died for their sins, and will never inter-
mit his suits to God in their behalf till they be safely brought to
glory.
5. Lastly, Employ the Lord Jesus Christ as your High Priest, to
bring you to God, depending on his merit as the ground of the expi-
ation of your guilt, and giving you a title unto eternal life. And
make use of him as your Advocate with the Father, to procure you
all the blessings you stand in need of for time and eternity.
OF CHRIST'S KINGLY OFFICE.
PsALM ii. 6. — Y^et have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion.
The New Testament leaves us no ground to doubt of our Lord Jesus
Christ being the person here spoken of, as several passages in this
psalm are expressly therein applied to him. The words contain a
direct assertion of Christ's being appointed King of Zion, his spiri-
tual kingdom — Therein we have,
L His office : He is a King, invested with all regal power and
princely authority : being ' King of kings, and Lord of lords ;' yea
'the Prince of the kings of the earth.' And this name he hath
written on his vesture and on his thigh, Rom. xix. 16.
2. His kingdom, over which he rules, the holy hill of Zion ; which
was an eminent type of the gospel -cliurch, and is called holy, because
the temple, the house of God was built upon it.
3. His right to this kingdom ; I have sent him my King, says Je-
hovah. The Father hath placed him in that office, giving him, as
2 II 2
476 OF Christ's kingly office.
God-man, Mediator, ' all power in heaven and in earth.' He is
' given to be Head over all things to the church.'
4. The stability of this kingdom against all attempts made to
oppose- or destroy it, Yet have I set my King, &c. — Though enemies
roar and rage, and leave no means unessayed to hinder the erection
and establishment thereof; yet all their plots shall be unsuccessful,
and all their deliberations shall miscarry. I have set him as King,
and will maintain his throne.
The doctrinal proposition arising from the words is,
DocT. ' Christ executes the Office of a King.'
In discoursing from this doctrine, I shall shew,
I. That Christ is a King.
II. What sort of a kingdom the kingdom of Christ is.
III. The acts of his kingly office.
lY. The propei'ties of this King.
V. LcLstly, Deduce some inferences for api)lication.
I. I am to shew that our Lord Jesus Christ is a King. This will
appear, if ye consider,
1. That he was prophesied of in the Old Testament under this
character. Thus old Jacob on his death-bed says of him, Gen. xlix.
10. ' The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from
between his feet, until Shiloh come.' And says the evangelical pro-
phet, Isa. xi. 1, 2, 3. ' There shall come forth a rod out of the stem
of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit
of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and under-
standing, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge,
and of the fear of the Lord : and shall make him of quick under-
standing in the fear of the Lord, and he shall not judge after the
sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears.'
2. That he was of old promised to his people under this notion :
Isa. ix. 6, 7- ' Unto us a child is born, imto us a Son is given, and
the government shall be upon his shoulder : and his name shall be
called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Fa-
ther, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and
peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his
kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with
justice, from henceforth even for ever. Zech. ix. 9, ' Rejoice
greatly, 0 daughter of Zion ; shout, 0 daughter of Jerusalem : be-
hold thy King cometh unto thee : he is just and having salvation,
lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the fole of an ass.'
Micah V. 2. ' Out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is to be
Ruler in Israel.' He is called tlie King by way of eminency. Cant.
i. 4. ' The King hath brought me into his banqueting-house.' Ezek.
OF Christ's kingly office. 477
xxxiv. 24. ' I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a
prince among them.' That he should be a King, was declared to his
mother, by the angel, before his conception in her womb, Luke i. 32,
33. * He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest ;
and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father Da-
vid. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of
his kingdom there shall be no end.' And hence he is called ' King
of kings, and lord of lords.' Rev. xvii. 14.
3. That he has all the ensigns of royalty. He has a sword :
hence it is said, Psal. xlv. 3. ' Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, 0
thou Most Mighty.' By this we are to understand the word of God,
which is the great instrument by which he maintains and propagates
the glory and honour of his kingdom in the world. — A sceptre,
which is another badge of royal majesty, Heb. i. 8. 'A sceptre of
righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.' By this we are to
understand his Spirit, which he puts forth in the government of the
world, and in his operations of grace in the hearts of his people,
guiding and conforming them, through his word and ordinances, to
the holy will of God. — A crown : It is said, Rev. vi. 2. that ' a
crown was given him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer,'
And we read of a crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the
day of his espousals, Cant. iii. IL — An escutcheon or coat of arms :
He bears the lion in his arms ; hence called ' the Lion of the tribe
of Judah,' Rev. v. 5 ; which imports that he should be a great con-
queror and a victorious King. — A throne, Heb. i. 8. ' Thy throne 0
God, is for ever and ever. — Subjects, over whom he rules, even all
the creatures in heaven and in earth, Psal. ii. 9. ' His kingdom rul-
eth over all,' Psal. ciii. 19. All the angels of heaven have taken
the oath of allegiance to him, Heb. i. 6. ' Let all the angels of God
worship him.' More especially he rules in the church. God the
Father has set the crown on his head, and he holds it by immediate
tenure from Heaven. — He enacts laws, which all his subjects are
bound to obey. His laws are contained in his word, and they reach
both the outward and the inward man.
4. That he sealed this truth with his precious blood. — When Pi-
late asked him, ' Art thou a King then ?' he answered, ' Thou sayest
that I am a King.' To this end was I born, and for this cause came
I into the world. On this account it is said of him, that ' before
Pontius Pilate he witnessed a good confession,' 1 Tim. vi. 13.
From all which it is evident, that our Lord Jesus is a King.
Yea, he is King of kings, and hath a pre-eminence over tliem all ;
and therefore he is called ' the Prince of the kings of the earth.'
And indeed he must needs be so ; for it is by him that kings reign
2 II 3
478 OF chjiust's kingly ori'icE.
and princes decree justice. — They all hold their crowns by immedi-
ate tenure from this great King. And he infinitely outvies them
all ; having the highest throne, the largest dominions, and the
longest possession.
II. I proceed to shew the nature of Christ's kingdom, or what
sort of a kingdom it is. Christ has a twofold kingdom.
1. An essential kingdom. He is Lord and King over all the
creatures by nature, inasmuch as he is the eternal Son of God, equal
with his Father in all things. In this respect he has a universal
empire, which extends over all things in heaven and earth, yea and
to hell itself. He is the sole Monarch of the whole world ; and all
the princes and potentates of the earth are but his vicegerents that
govern under, and should rule for him. He is ' the blessed and only
Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords,' as the apostle
styles him, 1 Tim. vi. 15.
2. He has an economical or Mediatory kingdom. Originally the
kingdom belongs to him as God, and derivatively it belongs to him
as God-man and Mediator. He is constituted King by divine ap-
pointment and institution, / have set my King upon my holy hill of
Zion. He is invested with authority over all the creatures ; hence
it is said, Ej)h. i. 22. ' God hath put all things under his feet.' He
rules from sea to sea, and to the ends of all the earth, yea to the
utmost bounds of' God's creation. ' He hath given him power over
all flesh,' as this King himself says, John xvii. 2. All things are
subject to his government, and ready to fulfil his pleasure, when he
issues his word of command.
The church is his peculiar and special kingdom. God ' hath given
him to be head over all things to the church,' Eph. i. 22. This
kingdom is a spiritual kingdom : hence he says, ' My kingdom is not
of this world,' John xviii. 36. The king thereof appeared not in
worldly pomp and grandeur, attended with a splendid equipage,
surrouudod with armed guards, or having a brilliant and magnifi-
cent court, but in spiritual splendor, suited to the nature of his
kingdom, Zech. ix. 9. forecited. His throne is in the heavens, not
on earth, Psal. ex. 1. His sceptre is a spiritual one, the word of
God, which he wields for the good of his people ; it is the rod of his
strength, which he sends out of Zion, and by the instrumentality of
it he makes them willing in the day of his power, Ps. ex. 2, 3.
Compare Isa. ii. 3. ' Out of Zion shall go forth a law, and the word
of the Lord from Jerusalem.' The subjects of this kingdom are spi-
ritual men, born of God, begotten of the word of truth, the incor-
ruptible seed of the word, John i. 12. The way of its administra-
tion is spiritual, reaching neither men's bodies nor purses, but their
OP Christ's kingly office. 479
consciences; 'tlie weapons' of it 'not being carnal, but mighty
through God to the pulling down of strong holds,' 2 Cor. x. 4. Its
laws are spiritual, reaching the innermost parts of the heart ; and
the beuefits of it are spiritual, righteousness, peace, joy in the Holy
Ghost,' &:c.
Tlhe administration of his government with respect to this king-
dom is either external or internal.
1, It is external ; and that again is either more general, or more
particular. (1.) More general, in the course of his providence. He
as Mediator has a providential influence on all the affairs of this
world, ordering and determining them to the special benefit and in-
terest of his people. Hence it is that all things work together for
the good of those who love God. We have an admirable scheme of
divine providence in Ezek. i. There you may see how all the
wheels, i. e. motions and revolutions here in this inferior world, are
guided and directed by the Spirit that is in them ; and in verse 26.
it is all run up into the supreme cause : there you find one like the
Son of Man, which is Jesus Christ, sitting upon the throne, and
giving forth orders for the government of all. (2.) It is more par-
ticular, in his appointing laws, ordinances, and officers, in his church,
to manage and govern it, and to inflict censures upon scandalous
oftenders.
2. It is internal, in the hearts of his people. He subdues them to
himself in a day of power, writes his laws upon their hearts, and
rules and governs them. In this respect it is said, Luke xvii. 21.
' The kingdom of God is within you.' There he sits enthroned
King, and sways his royal sceptre. But more of this anon.
III. The acts of Christ's kingly office may be reduced to these
heads, viz. subduing sinners to himself, ruling and governing them,
defending and protecting them, restraining his own and their ene-
mies, and conquering them. Of each of these I shall treat in order.
First, Christ exercises his kingly office in subduing a people to
himself, making them willing in the day of his power to submit to
his authority and sceptre, Psal. ex. 3. and so subjecting them to him
as willing subjects. For this end consider,
1. That the great design of Christ's kingly office as Mediator is to
raise up to himself a kingdom in the bowels of the kingdoms of the
earth. Acts xv. 14. and to make the subjects of men the subjects of
the divine Mediator. So that those who will not allow a spiritual
kingdom within a temporal one, refuse Christ to be King.
2. Our Lord has a right to this kingdom, having purchased it
with his blood. Acts xx. 28. He comes not without a title to con-
quer, but has the title of his Father's gift and his own purchase.
480 OF CURISt's KINCJIiY OFFICE.
Ere lie could attain to tlie possession of this kingdom, he behoved to
swim through a sea of bloody sufferings, and he purchased every
subject with the immense price of his precious blood. Thus his
title is indefeasible.
3. Though our Lord has this just right to the kingdom, yet his
subjects have sworn allegiance to the Prince of darkness, and ai;e in
actual rebellion against him. That is the common character of
them, which we have Tit. iii. 3. ' We ourselves also were sometimes
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures,
living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.' And
they will never yield to him, till they be overcome by his mighty
power. He gets no subjects but by stroke of sword, and the exer-
tion of the same power that was put forth in his own resurrection.
4. Christ as a King doth by power overcome them at length, and
makes them willingly submit to him, renounce obedience to the de-
vil, the world, and their own base lusts, his enemies, and causes
them cheerfully stoop to the yoke of his obedience, and to say, as
Isa. xxvi. 13. ' 0 Lord our God, other lords besides thee have had
dominion over us : but by thee only will we make mention of thy
name.'
5. The weapons wherewith Christ subdues his subjects are his
Avord and Spirit, whereby they are effectually convinced of their sin
and rebellion, and reduced to subjection to him. The word is the
rod of his power, by which he has subdued nations to himself. It
was by this word that in the primitive times he overturned the em-
pire of the devil, silenced the heathen oracles, and demolished the
Pagan idolatrous worship. And because the word comes to many
without the Spirit, therefore Christ has many subjects in appearance
only, mere pretenders to loyalty to him; they are really the subjects
of Satan, and only feign submission to Zion's King. But where the
Spirit comes with the word, there the heart is subjected to Chirst in
very deed, 2 Cor. x. 4 ; and Christ has a kingdom not only among
them, but within them.
Secondly, Christ exercises his kingly office in ruling and governing
his subjects. No kingdom can be without a government; and
Christ's kingdom must needs be an orderly kingdom, which he him-
self governs as the supreme Head and Monarch. Now,
1. Forasmuch as the church is a visible society on earth, whose
head is in heaven, Christ governs them externally.
(1.) Giving them laws according to which they are to demean
themselves every way towards God and towards their neighbour,
Isa. xxxii. 22. ' The Lord is our Lawgiver.' Those laws which are
the laws of tho kingdom of Christ, are written in the Bible, and are
OF Christ's ktstgly office. 481
a transcript of his perfections, and derive all their authority and
vigour from him alone, and not from the church, or any body of men
whatever. And none have poAver to add to or diminish from the
laws of this great King.
(2.) He gives them officers in whose hands he has lodged this go-
vernment who are to be accountable to him for their administration,
on whom they depend, and from whom they derive their power.
These are neither Pope nor prelates, none of these being officers of
Christ's appointment ; nor yet the civil magistrate, who as such is
not so much as a member of the church ; and while there were no
magistrates but what were enemies to the church and the cause of
Christ, yet Christ appointed a government therein ; as appears from
1 Cor. xii. 28. ' God hath set some in the church, first apostles, se-
condarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts
of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.' But these
officers are preaching and ruling elders ; as is clear from what the
apostle says, 1 Tim. v. 17- 'Let the elders that rule well, be counted
worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word
and doctrine.'
(3.) He gives discipline and censures to contronl the unruly, and
check the scandalous, and keep the society clean ; to which all that
own Christ as a King ought to be subject, who rules his people by
church discipline, as well as teaches them by the ministry of men.
This appears from what our Lord himself says. Mat. xviii. 17, 18.
' If he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church ; but if he
neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man,
and a publican. Yerily I say unto you. Whatsoever ye shall bind
on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose
on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.'
2. But seeing Christ is God, and his laws reach the inner man,
which lies open to no other but himself, he governs his people in-
ternally.
(1.) Writing his law in their hearts, in consequence of the divine
promise, Heb. viii. 10. holding forth their duty to them by an in-
ward evidence, making them to know what his will and pleasure is,
that they may obey it from the heart. Hence he says, Isa. xxx. 21,
' Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying. This is the way,
walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to
the left.'
(2.) He powerfully inclines and over-rules them by his Spirit
unto obedience, while he sits at the helm, and steers the ship of the
soul what way he will. Acts xx. 22. To which we may add,
(3.) Those secret rewards and corrections which are sent from his
482 OT" Christ's kingly office,
own hand ; while he bestows on them spiritual comforts and sonl--
feasts when in the way of their duty, and gives them such strokes
for their correction, even for secret faults, as may let them see, that
though their King be in heaven, yet he judges on the earth. Hence
he says to the church of Pergamos, Rev. ii. 17- ' To him that over-
cometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a
white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man
kuoweth, saving he that receiveth it.' And to the church of the
Laodiceaus he says, Rev. iii. 19. ' As many as I love, I rebuke
and chasten.'
Thirdly, Christ executes his kingly office in defending his people.
The kingdom of Christ always had and ever Avill have many ene-
mies, who will continually be Avithin bow-shot of its subjects. These
enemies are the devil, the flesh, the world, and death. Christ de-
fends against these, as a king defends his subjects.
1. By preserving his church in being, notwithstanding all the cun-
ning and furious attempts to destroy her. Hence the bush, though
it burn, Avill not consume. Of her he says, Isa. xxvii. 3. ' I the
Lord do keep it : lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.'
And he keeps every particular believer, so as they never totally
and finally fall away, John x. 28. ' I give unto them eternal life
(says he) : and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck
them out of my hand.'
2. By giving them necessary support and help under all suffer-
ings, troubles, and temptations, never leaving them, no not at the
hour of death. Hence it is said, Tsa. Ixiii. 9. 'In all their afllic-
tion he was afilicted, and the angel of his presence saved them : in
his love and in his pity he redeemed them, and he bare them, and
carried them all the days of old.' 1 Cor. x. 13. ' There hath no
temj)tation taken you, but such as is common to man ; but God is
faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are
able ; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that
ye may be able to bear it.' For this he makes use of the angels
as he will, they being ' all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister
for them who shall be heirs of salvation,' Heb. i. 14. And he can
employ men, even the worst of men, in that service : hence the
earth helped the woman, and opened her mouth, and swallowed up
the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. Rev. xii. 16.
Fourthly, Christ executes his kingly office in restraining his ene-
luies, and those of his people. While, though their power remains
with them to annoy his people, yet he sets bounds to them, over
which they cannot pass ; Psal. Ixxvi. 10. ' Surely the wrath of man
shall praise thee (says the Psalmist) : the remainder of wrath shalt
OF ciiklst's kingly office. 483
thou restrain." — Christ hiis all his aud his people's euemies, out-
ward and inward, in a chain : and no further can they go than he is
pleased to let out a link to them. If it wei'e not so, all would
quickly be over-run ; but one jot they cannot go beyond his permis-
sion.
Fifthly and lastly, Christ executes his kingly office in conquering
his enemies, and those of his people. This conquest is twofold.
(1.) When now he takes away their power in part. Thus is the
devil conquered already, that he has not all the world so at his
will, and under his yoke of slavery, as before the coming of Christ,
AV'hen he ruled among the nations with an unlimited sway. And
thus the devil and the flesh are conquered in the day of converting
grace, when the power of these enemies is broken, and the captives
are delivered from the tyranny and bondage in which they were
formerly held. Thus the wicked world is conquered, when their
rage against the people of God is laid aside, and the church enjoys
tranquillity : ' For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire
round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her, Zech. ii. 5.
And death is conquered when its sting is taken away, which it is as
to every believer ; so that they can say, ' 0 death, where is thy
sting V 1 Cor. xv. 55. (2.) There is a complete conquest remain-
ing, which will be at the last day, when Christ will gather in all his
people into one glorious company, transport them into those man-
sions of bliss which he has prepared for them, and reign over them
for ever in heaven : when all his own, and his people's enemies are
utterly destroyed from the presence of God, and the glory of his
power. ' For he must reign till all his enemies be put under his
feet,' 1 Cor. xv. 25. Then death and hell shall be cast into the
lake of fire, Ilev. xx. 14. and the devil and all his slaves shall be
shut up for ever in the infernal Tophet. This shall be the most sig-
nal display of the glorious conquests of this King, and the trophies
of his victory shall be the subject of the song of the redeemed for
ever.
This kingdom of Christ will be eternal, Luke i. 33. * He shall
reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there
shall be no end.' Dan. ii. 44. ' The God of heaven shall set up a
kingdom, which shall never be destroyed, — and it shall stand for
ever.' It is true the way of its present administration will cease,
and so he will deliver up the kingdom to his Father, but exhibiting
it as consummated and perfected. But Christ shall remain the
King, Head, and Husband of his thurcli for ever, Rev. xix. 7- aud
he shall be the eternal bond of union betwixt God and the saints.
IV. Let us consider some of the properties or qualities of Zion's
King.
484 OP Christ's kingly office.
1. He is a King of ancient, glorious, aud honourable extract: for
he is the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of
his person. His goings forth were of old, from everlasting. And
he is God over all, blessed for ever.
2. He is an absolute king, who makes laws for his subjects, but is
not bound by any himself. His will is his law, and he does without
controul whatever seems good to himself in heaven and in earth.
Yea, so uncontroulable is his government, that none may oblige him
to render a reason of his actions. ' Who may say unto him, What
dost thou ?' But though Christ be an absolute monarch, yet his go-
vernment is no way tyrannical, but managed according to the eter-
nal rules of righteousness, justice, and holiness.
3. He is a wise King : for he is the wisdom of God, yea, God
only wise ; and therefore infinitely able to guide his subjects through
all the labyrinths of danger and difficulty wherein they may be in-
volved ; while he ' teaches them in the way of wisdom, and leads
them in right paths ; so that when they go, their steps shall not be
straitened : and when they run, they shall not stumble,' Prov. iv.
11, 12.
4. Christ is a very powerful King : for he has more than the
strength of an unicorn ; yea, he has an arm that is full of power,
being the Lord of hosts, strong and mighty in battle ; and there-
fore infinitely able to secure his subjects against all the attempts
which devils or men can make against them. Tea, so great is his
strength, and so mighty is his poAver, that one angry blast thereof
will make all his enemies to liy as chaif before the wind ; and there-
fore he says, ' Who will set the briars and thorns against me in
battle ; 1 would go through them, I would burn tliem up together,'
Isa. xxvii. 4.
5. Christ is a just King : ' Just and right is he.' Though clouds
and darkness may be about him, yet 'justice and judgment are the
habitation of his throne,' Psal. xcvii. 2. So that his government is
impartially exercised, without any by-respect to the great or the
small, the rich or the poor, &c. Neither the meanness of the poor
and low, nor the honour and greatness of the high and noble, will
incline him to do any thing in the least inconsistent with the immu-
table rules of perfect justice. ' He accepteth not the persons of
princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor ; for they are all
the work of his hands,' Job xxxiv. 19.
6. Christ is a very merciful King. Mercy is the prevailing attri-
bute of his nature, which he delights to make the children of men
feel the benign effects of. Therefore he has proclaimed himself to
be ' the Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious.' He does not
OF chri?!t',s kingly office. 485
willingly grieve nor afflict the children of men. He takes no plea-
sure in the blood of his most implacable and inveterate foes ; and
bears with a very tender hand upon his afflicted, broken, and dis-
couraged people. For the bruised reed he will not break, nor
quench the smoking flax. He heals the broken in heart, and binds
up all their wounds. In all the afflictions of his people he is af-
flicted ; and he that touches them, touches the apple of his eye.
7. Christ is a very meek and patient King. Never any in the
world could have borne such indignities, or digested such aflronts, as
he has met with from such of his own subjects, to whom he has
shewn the most distinguishing kindness. Had he not been thus
patient, Judah and Ephraim had soon been unpeopled. ' As for
them, they were bent to backsliding : though they called them to
the Most High, none at all would exalt him,' Hos. xi. 7- Though he
sent many prophets unto them, calling upon them, and saying, ' Re-
turn, ye backsliding children,' &c. yet they did not regard them.
Who after this could imagine, that this just and jealous King would
have entertained one thought of kindness towards them ? yet hear
what he says, ' How shall I give thee up, Ephraim ? how shall I
deliver thee, Isr?tel ? how shall I make thee as Admah ? how shall I
set thee as Zeboim ? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings
are kindled together,' ver. 8.
8. Christ is a very beautiful King. His glory outshines the sun
in its full strength. The united constellations of all created beauty
fall infinitely short of his ; for he is fairer than the children of men,
yea, he is altogether lovely.
9. Christ is a most humble and condescending King : for he does
not disdain to be acquainted with the meanest among the sons of
men ; the beggar will be as welcome to him as the prince. The
poor and the rich are all one to him ; and he takes as much notice
of Job on the dunghill, as of David on the throne. Hear what the
prophet, in the name of this great King, says, Isa. Ixvi. 1, 2. 'Thus
saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my foot-
stool : where is the house tliat ye build unto me ? and where is the
place of my rest ? for all those things hath mine hand made, and all
those things have been, saith the Lord : but to this man will I look,
even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at
my word.'
10. Christ is a very rich and opulent King. The earth is the
Lord's, and the fulness thereof. He is the heir of all things. Ho-
nour and riches are with him, yea, durable riches and righteousness.
So that those who are his honest and faithful subjects shall never
want any thing that is good for them. Such are the immense trea-
486 OF ciiiust's kingly office.
sures and infinite riclies of this glorious King, that all the ministers
on earth, and all the angels in heaven, cannot possibly lay them
open. For can they grasp the heavens in their arms, and the sun
in the hollow of their hands? can they weigh the mountains in
scales, and the hills in a balance ? Suppose they could do all this,
and a thousand times more, yet could they not give an account of
the estate of this my King. So that his subjects shall never want
either grace or glory.
11. He is an immortal and everlasting King. 'The heavens and
the earth shall perish, but he shall endure ; yea, all of them shall
wax old like a garment ; as a vesture shall they be changed. But
he is the same, and his years shall have no end,' Psal. cii. 26, 27.
Though the best, the wisest, and the richest kings upon earth will
die, and leave their subjects exposed to many inconveniences conse-
quent on their death, yet this King of glory lives for evermore, and
will rule over his subjects with justice, mercy, and righteousness,
through all the ages of eternity.
It remains to make some improvement of this subject.
1. The kings of the earth have no ground to grudge the kingdom
of Christ its freedom in their dominions ; seeing it is a spiritual
kingdom, and quite of another nature than the kingdoms of this
world ; and interferes not with any of the just rights and preroga-
tives of earthly crowns. Yet how sad is it that this kingdom
should be an eye-sore to the kings of the earth, and that they should
employ their power to suppress and bear it down ?
2. The Pope's supremacy, and the supremacy of the magistrate
over all persons, and in all causes, whereby they have been made
heads of the church, is daring blasphemy against Christ, a bold
usurpation of his crown and dignity, and high rebellion against him,
who will not suffer the jewels to be stollen from his crown, to deck
the head of any earthly power whatever, without the severest testi-
mony of his resentment.
3. There is a government of the church distinct from and inde-
pendent upon the civil government, lodged in the hands of church-
officers, whereby they have a power, in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, to meet in judicatories, transact matters there according to
the word and laws of this King, to dissolve their meetings in his
name, to appoint fasts and thanksgivings, as the state of the church
may require, to inflict censures on offenders, bind and loose, and to
do every thing necessary for advancing this kingdom in a spiritual
way, but no otherwise. And whoever presumes to hinder them in
these acts of administration, or arrogate any of them to themselves,
are in so far enemies to Christ and his royal prerogatives.
OF Christ's kingly office. 487
4. This government of the church is not alterable by any power
on earth, whether civil or ecclesiastic ; nor have they that are en-
trusted with it any power to give up the rights and privileges
conferred on them by Christ to any person or persons whatsoever.
If they do so, tliey are unfaithful to their trust, and their conduct
will be highly resented another day.
5. None have power to appoint any parts of worship in the
Church that Christ has not appointed. For he is the sole Lawgiver
of the church, and has in his word appointed the platform of the
worship which he requires of his subjects. And therefore for any
to appoint ceremonies and rights of worship which bear not the
stamp of his institution, act in opposition to his laws ; and all their
rites are useless and unprofitable. Equally culpable are those who
presume to make any terms of communion, or of admission to the
ordinances of the church, but such as Christ has left behind him.
This is high rebellion against the King of Ziou.
6. The truth of the kingdom of Christ is a solid ground of sufl^r-
ing, on which people may comfortably lose whatever is dear to them
in the world, knowing they are in the way of their duty. And this
was the ground of the sufferings of the Lord's people in the perse-
cuting reigns before the Revolution, whose memory ought to be
always regarded, for their zealous and firm adherence to the i)rero-
gatives of Christ's kingdom.
7. The church shall ride out all the storms that can blow upon
her, whether from earth or hell. All plots and contrivances against
her shall be defeated in the end ; for her King liveth, and will
never suffer the gates of hell to i)revail against her. The crown
shall flourish on his head, when the church's enemies shall be ruined,
and their kingdoms laid by for ever.
8. However weak any poor believer be amongst many enemies,
yet the broken ship shall surely come to land. The spark of grace
shall be preserved amidst an ocean of difficulties and corruptions,
within or without. The seed of grace sown in the heart shall be
maintained, and spring up in the fruits of holiness. All Christ's
honest subjects shall be kept by the power of God through faith
unto salvation.
9. Whoever they be that refuse subjection to the ordinances and
discipline of Christ's house, do in so far reject Christ from ruling
over them. Consider this, ye that neglect a regular attendance
upon the ordinances of divine institntiou, and will not submit to
discipline and censure for your scandalous, and oftensive behaviour.
Ye are the enemies of Zion's King, and your conduct plainly de-
clares, that ye will not have this man to reign over you. Repent
of this your rebellion, otherwise ye shall be slain as his enemies.
488 OF chijist's kingly oTpice.
10. See, believers, ye that are striving against sin and Satan, and
waging war with yonr lusts and all Christ's enemies, to whom you
are to have recourse for help in all your dilHculties ; even to your
Almighty King, who is infinitely able to help you in all straits.
Make use of him daily as your King, applying and trusting to him
for life, strength, defence, and victory over all your enemies.
11. Lastly, Ye that are strangers to Christ, captives to Satan,
and under a miserable thraldom to your own lusts, will ye be per-
suaded to come under the sceptre and government of King Jesus ;
take on his yoke, and subject yourselves to him and his blessed go-
vernment. For motives, consider,
(1.) The great glory and dignity of his person. He is God equal
with the Father, the wonder of men and angels. The most glori-
ous monarch that ever swayed sceptre among men, is but like a
worm of the earth, or a despicable insect in the air, compared to
him. All created excellencies fall under a vail, when his glory be-
gins to shine.
(2.) He has the best right to govern your souls. The devil and
your vile lusts are all usurpers. But Christ is your rightful Lord.
He has an original right to you as Grod, and a derivative right as
Mediator. He hath an unquestionable title by the grant of the Fa-
ther, Acts ii. 36. ' Let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that
God hath made the same Jesus, Avhom ye have crucified, both Lord
and Christ.' And he hath a right by his own merit and purchase,
Rom. xiv. 9. " For this end Christ both died, and rose again, and
revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.' Ye
are his, whether ye will or not. Ye are entirely at his disposal.
He has more power over you than the potter has over the clay.
Your own cons^t and willingness adds nothing to his title ; but it
will fearfully aggravate your sin, if ye refuse it.
(3.) Consider the misery of your condition till once ye submit to
him. Ye are under a miserable bondage to the devil ; ye are
slaves to the prince of darkness ; that spirit rules in you that
worketh in all the children of disobedience. Your condition will
grow still worse and worse, till it be incapable of any further
addition of misery. Ye are now without God, without the pro-
mises of the covenant, without peace, without the pardon of sin,
having no communion with God, or title to heaven. Ye are slaves
to your sordid lusts, under the curse of the law, and condemned
already. Whenever ye die out of Christ, ye shall die in your sins ;
and he that was your ruler and leader in this world, will be both
your companion and tormentor in the world to come. 0 fearful
condition ! Can ye sleep quietly in your chains ? When ye hear
OF Christ's kinoly office. 489
tliat Christ was anointed by the Father to preach good tidings to
the meek, to proclaim liberty to captives, and the opening of the
prison to them that are bound ; should not this make you sigh, nay
cry, through the grates of the prison, to this glorious Deliverer who
stands at the door ? "When ye see Christ's standard pitched in the
gospel, and his glorious banner displayed there, will ye not repair
to it, and list yourselves among his faithful subjects ?
(4.) It is your greatest dignity to be subjects to Christ. Tlioo-
dosius the Emperor thought it a greater honour to be a servant to
Christ, than the head of an empire. Christ's subjects are called
vessels of honour, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy
nation, &c. They are consecrated, and set apart for God, to be the
objects of his special grace, and the instruments of his glory and
service in the world. This advanceth them to great dignity and
honour. Subject yourselves then to Christ, and ye shall arrive at
the highest pinnacle of honour.
(5.) His government is most sweet and pleasant. His yoke is
easy, and his burden light. His cross is better than the world's
crown. Submit then to his easy sceptre.
(6.) Consider the great happiness that will attend your sub-
jecting yourselves to Christ's government. It is introductive to
every privilege, mercy, and blessing, that men can desire. By this
ye will be delivered from the vassalage of Satan, the servitude of
sin, the malediction of the law, and danger of the wrath to come.
Let this prevail on you to submit to this King.
(7.) By this ye will put the crown upon his head, and give him
the reward of his bloody death and sufterings, when ye renounce sin
and Satan, and all the lusts and idols that exercised dominion over
you before, and betake yourselves to him by faith,* and give your
hearty consent that he shall reign in your souls.
(8.) This is the design of all God's ordinances and dispensations ;
all the arrows in the gospel-quiver are levelled at this mark ; it is
the point and centre into which all these blessed lines are drawn.
Submit to him, then, and disappoint not the design of all his love
and grace to poor sinners.
(9.) Ye can have no saving benefit by Christ, unless ye submit to
him as your King. It is through his kingly office that all his other
otflces are made effectual. All the blessings and benefits of his pur-
chase are conveyed to believers this way. It is by his regal power
that he changes their natures, powerfully inclines them to believe
on him, and to love and obey him. If ye accept not of him as your
King, ye can have no benefit by him at all. Ye must receive him
as your Lord, as well as your Prophet and Priest.
2 1
490 OF Christ's iiumtltatiox.
(10.) Lristly, If yc will not stoop and bow to him, lie will broak
you in pieces. God lias settled an irreversible decree, that 'to him
every knee shall bow ;' and if they do it not cheerfully and will-
ingly, they shall be made to do it with force and constraint. He
has a rod of iron, and therewith he will break in pieces the
mightiest potentates of the earth that will not subject themselves to
him. Hence we have that counsel given them by the Spirit of God,
Psal. ii. 10, 11, 12. 'Be wise now, therefore, 0 ye kings: be in-
structed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and re-
joice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish
from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little : blessed are
all they that put their trust in him.'
OF CHRIST'S HUMILIATION.
PiiiLiPPiAifs ii. 8. — He htimblcd himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross.
Having discoursed of our Redeemer and his incarnation, and the
several offices he executes under that character, I come now to treat
of his amazing humiliation and abasement, to which he willingly
submitted, in order to accomplish the redemption of elect sinners.
The text holds forth his state of humiliation.
1. The voluntariness of it : it was no matter of force or compul-
sion ; He voluntarily humbled himself.
2. The nature of it : it was obedience, viz. to the Father's will,
which comprehends the whole of what Christ did and suflered for
our redemption.
3. The depth of it : it was unto death ; and he could go no lower.
As for the kind of death, he humbled himself to the basest and most
humiliating kind of it, the death of the cross. Under this is compre-
hended his burial, and continuing for a time under the power of
death. Death had our Redeemer as low as it could carry him.
4. The continuance of this humiliation. He had a race thereof
set before him, in which he continued till he came to death, as the
end of it.
Christ's humiliation was a voluntary thing ; he voluntarily did
and suffered whatever he did and suffered for us, Psal. xl. 7. ' Lo, I
come,' said he. Even in the deepest points of his humiliation, ' he
was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her
shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth,' to oppose the
OF CIIRrST's TTUMILIATIOy. 491
liumbling troatment ho was exposed to. Man fell off from God by
liis ambition, and tlici'eforc was Christ humbled, that he might be
recovered again from his misery to the favour of God, and al-
legiance to him.
In discoursing further from this subject, I shall consider the seve-
ral parts of our Lord's humiliation, as they are laid down in the
Catechism, viz. ' his being born, and that in a low condition, made
under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of
God, and the cursed death of the cross ; his being buried, and con-
tinuing under the power of death for a time.' "What a catalogue of
humiliating circumstances is here, to which the Son of God was sub-
jected from the cradle to the grave ; the consideration of all which
should excite us to hate sin, the fatal cause of all, and to endear to
us the merciful Redeemer, who for our sake went through all this
scene to accomplish our salvation.
First, The Son of God was born, and that in a low condition.
Here is a wide step at first, a step from heaven to earth ; which is
a mystery of infinite condescension. Take this article in pieces,
and behold humiliation in every point. The Son of God was
humbled in his incarnation, his conception, his birth, and the cir-
cumstances attending it.
1. The Son of God became man. To see a king become a slave,
and the order of angels degraded into crawling worms, would be
matter of wonder ; but a greater is here, viz. God not become an
angel, though that would have been infinitely below him, but a man,
a son of Adam, taking the likeness of sinful flesh. Hence the
apostle cries out with admiration, 1 Tim. iii. 16. ' Great is the
mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh.' 0 deep hu-
miliation ! far greater than if all the creatures had been degraded
to the lowest degree of existence.
2. He was conceived in the womb of a sinful woman, the virgin
Mary, who, as a daughter of Adam, was certainly infected with
original sin as well as the rest of his posterity. 0 the depth of the
Son of God's humiliation ! It would have been low, had the great
God, the Creator of heaven and earth, purposing to become man,
been created as Adam, as it were at once, and in a perfect state of
manhood. But to be conceived in the womb of a woman, was yet
lower. He whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain as God,
was as man shut up for the ordinary number of months in the womb
of a woman, whom he himself had made. His body was formed not
of any substance sent down from heaven, but of her's a creature,
Gal. iv. 4. He was ' made of a woman ;' that is, his body was
formed of a part of her substance, being of the seed of David, and
2i2
492 OF Christ's nuMTLiATiox.
of the tribe of Jiidah. He was born of a sinful creature, and yet
without sin ; the Holy Ghost having purified it from all defilement,
as God alone can bring a clean thing out of an unclean, though man
cannot.
3. He was born of a woman. Had there been no more about him
but that he had been born of an empress, a sovereign princess, who
made a great figure in the world, it would have been very wonder-
ful : but that he was born of any woman at all, be her rank in life
what it will, may well strike us with amazement. I shall say no
more of this, but that our birth is such as the due consideration of
it might humble us all our life ; and yet to it Christ humbled him-
self. 0 the depth of his humiliation.
4. He was born in a low condition. There were several circum-
stances of the lowest abasement about the birth of Christ. He was
not born of a great princess, seated on a splendid throne, and at-
tended with a brilliant court, but a mean woman, though of the
seed-royal of David, and married not to a mighty potentate, but a
poor mechanic, a carpenter, Luke i. 48. and that not in her own
house, but in that of another ; not in the inn, the great house where
the richer and more noble company chuse their lodging, there being
no room there for him who was born King of the Jews, yea, who is
the Priuce of the kings of the earth, but in a stable among cattle ;
and when born, not clothed with embroidered or costly garments, as
the children of kings use to be, but swaddled in tattered clothes,
rent pieces of a garment, as the original word signifies ; and laid not
in a servant's bed in the stable, but in a manger, out of which the
cattle eat their provender, instead of a cradle, Luke ii. 7- A far
lower state of humiliation than most of the sons and daughters of
Adam are reduced to. Well may we cry out with astonishment,
How low, 0 Son of God, wast thou humbled in every circumstance
relating to thy conception and birth ! 0 that we might study hu-
mility from thy low abasement !
Secondly, Our Redeemer was made under the law, though he be
the Lord of all, and the Lawgiver unto his rational creatures. Re-
bellious man had shaken off the yoke of his obedience, and Christ
therefore lays his neck under it. He submitted himself to the cere-
monial law, undergoing the painful operation of circumcision on the
eighth day after his birth, as was therein enjoined ; to the civil law
paying tribute, &c. ; and to the moral law, obeying the precepts
thereof, and suffering the penal sanction of it, which was added in
case of transgression by man, in whose room he substituted himself.
1. He submitted to the preceptive part of the law as a covenant
of works, which man had broken : and this he fulfilled, so that he
OF Christ's nrjriLiATiox. 493
was even subject to Joseph his supposed father, and to Mary his
Mother, according to the flesh, Luke ii. 51. ; nay, to every branch of
it, in fulfilling all righteousness, IMatth. iii. 15. By this his obedi-
ence the law was magnified and made honourable, and got its full
due in respect of active obedience, which it could never have got
from men, though all their pieces of obedience had been accumulated
into one sum.
2. He submitted to the threatening or penal sanction of the law.
Though there was no guile found in his mouth, and he owed the law
nothing, as being the great Lawgiver, yet the law took him by the
throat, as the undertaker for sinners, saying, ' Pay me what thou
owest.' The threatening was enacted, and he answered it to a
tittle, bearing that death in his soul and body which it had threat-
ened on account of sin. And thus he took on the debt of elect
sinners, and he paid it to the utmost farthing. 0 wonderful conde-
scension in the Lord and Lawgiver, to yield obedience to his own
law, that was made for creatures, in all its demands, the most rigor-
ous not excepted? 0 blessed Undertaker, who hast paid all the
debt of bankrupt men !
Thirdly, He underwent the miseries of this life, which was in-
fected with the plague of sin, and thereby rendered very grievous to
bear ; and yet he, though sinless, humbled himself to bear the to-
kens thereof. As,
1. Poverty : ' Though the foxes had holes, and the birds of the
air had nests, yet he, the Son of man, had not where to lay his
head.' Adam had reduced all his posterity to beggary, and Christ
submitted to the poverty following it ; not having wherewith to
maintain himself, but receiving supplies from some women who
ministered to him of their substance. He was so poor that he had
not wherewith to pay the tribute exacted of him till he wrought a
miracle for it. In his greatest state, and when attended with the
grandest cavalcade, he was mounted, not on a horse finely capari-
soned, but on a silly ass, and that none of his own, but borrowed
from another.
2. Sorrow : Isa. liii. 3. He was ' a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief.' There was a constant cloud of sorrow on him. Once
we read of his rejoicing in spirit, but never of his laughing ; fre-
quently of his complaints, tears, and groans. He was content to
sorrow for us, that we might rejoice, and to weep that we might be
glad.
3. The indignities of the world, in the contempt, reproach, and
despite poured upon him. He was despised and rejected of men.
Hence he says of himself in this respect, Psal. xxii. G. ' I am a
2i3
494 OF Christ's humiliation.
worm and no man : a reproach of men, and despised of the people.'
He was contradicted of sinners, called Beelzebub, a madman, a wine-
bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners, &c.
4. The temptations of Satan. He was tempted of the devil forty
days in the wilderness and elsewhere : nay tempted to self-murder,
and to the worship of that damned spirit, to whom is reserved the
blackness of darkness for ever. And Satan seems to have often set
upon him, though the particular times are not mentioned in the sa-
cred records; as appears from Luke iv. 13. where it is said, that
* the devil departed from him (after his grand temptation) for a sea-
son ;' denoting that he would attack him again.
Lastly, The sinless infirmities of human nature. He was sub-
jected to weariness, hunger, thirst, &c. as the history of his life in
the evangelists abundantly declares. Thus low was the Son of God
humbled on account of sinners, that they might not perish for ever.
0 let us admire his humiliation and abasement, and let his low
estate for ever hide pride from our eyes, and teach us, in whatever
state we are, therewith to be content.
rouETHLy, He underwent the wi-ath of God. Thus he humbled
himself to drink the bitter dregs of his Father's wrath for us. The
curse of the law was laid upon him, and he bore it for us. Gal. iii.
13. His soul was troubled, John xii. 27- He was beset with sor-
rows of the deepest sort, when he said, ' My soul is exceeding sor-
rowful, even unto death,' Matth. xxvi. 38. He was in an agony, so
as it made him sweat great drops of blood, that trickled from his
blessed body in a cold night in the open air. "Whence was all this
but from the load of his Fatlier's wrath that lay on him, on account
of all the sins of his elect people imputed to him ? a load, which, if
laid on all the angels in heaven and men on earth, would have sunk
them to the lowest hell. Compare the martyrs quietly bearing the
most fearful deaths. They were supported by divine consolations
flowing into their souls, without one drop of God's wrath in the cup
given them to drink. But from him all divine comforts were with-
held. See that desertion of God of which he so bitterly cried out
on the cross, when there was an eclipse of comfort from his holy
soul, as there was of the sun in his cheering beams from the earth,
that he might bear that wrath in full measure. 0 what an amazing-
step of iiumiliation was this ! Who knows the power of the Lord's
wrath ? If fatherly anger made David to roar, and vindictive jus-
tice devils to tremble under the fearful apprehensions of the wrath
to come upon them, how dreadful behoved that wrath to be which
was due to the sins of all the elect, when accumulated in one sum,
and all charged upon Christ at once ? He was set up as a mark
OF Christ's humiliation". 495
against which all tlie arrows of the divine wrath were levelled ; the
quiver thereof was emptied upon him. No wonder then that he was
in agony, that blood trickled from every pore of his body, and that
his holy human soul recoiled, as it were, from the terrible shock it
underwent under this load of wrath and the curse of the law.
Fifthly, He underwent the cursed death of the cross. Being be-
trayed by Judas, forsaken by all his disciples, denied by the self-
confident Peter, and condemned by Pilate, he was put to death on
the cross. This death of Christ was,
1. Most painful. No death is without pain. But his death was
most painful : for ' it pleased the Lord to bruise him.' Consider
here,
(1.) Our Lord was scourged, having his blessed back beaten with
sharp rods. Matt, xxvii. 26. which was a most shameful and painful
thing.
(2.) He was crowned with thorns ; and the mad soldiers struck
him on the head, when this prickly crown was on his head, thereby
driving the thorns into it, and making them penetrate the deeper,
Matt, xxvii. 29, 30. whereby it seems he was so overspread with his
own blood, that Pilate thought him already an object of commisera-
tion, and brought him forth to the Jews, saying ' Behold the man,'
John xix. 5. Add to this what he suffered from blows and cuffs laid
on him without mercy, and their compelling him to bear his own
cross, till, fainting with the heavy load and his inward sufferings,
they obliged another to drag it to the place of execution.
(3.) He was crucified ; which was a most painful and excruciating
death. For consider,
[1.] The extending of his body on the cross, which lying on the
ground, his body was with such force stretched out its full length,
that his bones were drawn out of joint, as he himself pattietically
expresses it in prophetical language, long before the tragical event
took place, Psal. xxii. 14. ' My bones are out of joint,' His sinews
were distended, and his bones dislocated by the violent distension.
[2.] The nailing of the body so extended unto the cross. These
nails were driven through the hands and the feet, the sinewy and
most sensible parts of the body ; which could not but occasion
greater pain to Christ's body, which was of a finer temperature and
more acute feeling than the bodies of other men, as being entirely
exempted from the corruption and distempers these are liable
to. And great indeed it seems they were ; for he says, ' they
pierced my hands and feet ;' in Hebrew they digged them, as it
wore with spades and mattocks, which could not but occasion the
most excruciating and acute pain.
496 OF CIIKIST's IIliMILIATION.
[3. J What dreadful pain behoved the lifting up of the cross, with
him nailed to it, be to liis blessed body, especially if done with a
sudden jerk, which we may suppose to have been probably the case,
considering the eagerness of his enemies to have him dispatched ;
and then thrusting it down again into the ground that it might
stand uj)right, attended no doubt with shaking fi"ora side to side <
Every one may well perceive what dreadful pain must have at-
tended all this horrid scene.
[4.] It was a longsonie or lingering death. He hung on the cross
about six hours, from nine in the morning till three in the afternoon,
Mark xv. 25, 34. What pain behoved to attend such a long sus-
pension on the cross, his blessed body hanging all the while by his
hands nailed to the upper part ?
2. His death was most shameful and ignominious, Ileb. xii. 2.
' He endured the cross, despising the shame.' Much shame was cast
upon him. They spit upon him, and mocked him. The death of
the cross was a death for bondmen, seldom for freemen, and those
only of the baser sort, and for some of the highest crimes. While
he was a-dying he stood naked on the cross ; for they that were
crucified were first stript naked of all their clothes. Matt, xxvii. 35.
He was crucified in the midst of two thieves, as if he had been the
chief of them, and that without the gate, as the blasphemer was
without the camp. They wagged their heads at him. He was
mocked in his prophetical office : they blindfolded him, and bad
him ' prophesy who smote him.' He was mocked in his priestly
office, ' He saved others, but himself he cannot save.' And he was
mocked in his kingly office ; they cried unto him, ' Hail, King of the
Jews ;' and this title, ' This is Jesus the King of the Jews,' was in-
scribed on his cross, as giving him out for a mock monarch.
3. It was a cursed death, Deut. xxi. 23. ' He that is hanged, is
accursed of God.' That was but a ceremonial curse, but it was a
real one to him. Gal. iii. 13. ' He was made a curse for us.' There
were many other kinds of death among the Jews ; but that kind
only was accursed : and therefore it behoved Christ our Surety so to
die. It is thought this crucifying of criminals was forbidden in the
time of the Emperor Constantine.
Sixthly, He was buried, so that there might be full assurance
given of his death, upon the reality of which the hopes and happi-
ness of his people depend, inasmuch as thereby transgression was
finished, an end put to sin, reconciliation made for iniquity, and
everlasting righteousness brought in. He was buried too, that he
might conquer death in its darkest and strongest hold, even in the
gloomy recesses of the grave : to sanctify and sweeten it to all his
OF Christ's humiliation. 497
friends and followers, that it may be to them a place of repose,
where their bodies may rest till the resurrection ; that his people
may have power and strength to bury sin, so as it may never rise
up against them to their condemnation ; and to teach his followers
to give one another's dead bodies a just and decent interment.
The persons who concerned themselves in our Lord's funeral, were
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, John xix. 38, — 42. They
were rich men, senators, and counsellors in the Jewish state, and of
as bright and distinguished characters as any who sat in the sanhe-
drim ; and yet they were so far from reckoning it a dishonour, that
they counted it a piece of singular glory to be employed in this last
act of kindness to their dead Lord. Now, when the apostles were
all fled, and none of them appeared to shew this respect to their
Master, Providence stirred up these two great and rich men to act a
part upon this occasion which was truly great and honourable. And
those persons were well affected to our Redeemer. Though the
weakness of their faith moved them to conceal their profession du-
ring his life, yet now, when he is dead, and none of all his followers
have the courage to own or concern themselves about him, they
boldly ajjpear in acting this part of sincere friends to him.
The place where our Lord was buried was a new sepulchre in a
garden, wherein no man had ever been laid, John xix. 41. Thus
our Lord was buried not in his own, but in another man's grave.
As in the days of his life he was in such circumstances, that he him-
self said, ' The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests,
but the Son of man has not whei'e to lay his head ;' so when he was
dead he had no grave of his own to be laid in. When he was born,
he was born in another man's house ; when he preached, he preached
in another man's ship ; when he prayed, he prayed in another man's
garden ; when he rode to Jerusalem, he rode on another man's ass ;
and when he was buried, he was buried in another man's grave.
lie had nothing peculiar to himself but his cross ; which no man
would touch, far less take from him, even when he was ready to
faint under the weight of it, till Simon of Gyrene was compelled to
bear it. The grave belonged to Joseph of Arimathea, who was a
rich man ; and thus there was a memorable fulfilment of that pro-
phecy, Isa. liii. 9. 'He made his grave with the wicked, and with
the rich in his death.' Though upon the cross he was insulted and
despised, yet he was honourably laid in the grave. It was a new
grave ; which a wise Providence so ordered, that the Jews might
have no ground to surmise, either that some other buried before had
risen, or that his resurrection was not the etfect of his own power,
but of virtue (lowing from the body of some saint formerly interred
498 OF Christ's humiliation.
there, as in the case of that dead man, who being- let down into tho
grave of- Elisha, and touching liis bones, revived, and stood up on
his feet, 2 Kings xiii. 21. This grave was in a garden; which Jo-
seph contrived to have so, that it might be a memorandum to him,
while living amidst all the pleasures and products of this garden, to
think of death, and to be diligent in preparing for it. In a sepul-
chre in a garden Christ's body was laid. In the garden of Eden
death and the grave received their power, and now in a garden are
conquered, disarmed, and triumphed over. In a garden Christ be-
gan his passion, and in a garden he would rise arid begin his exalta-
tion. Christ fell to the ground as a corn of wheat, John xii. 24.
and therefore was sown in a garden among the seeds, for his dew is
as the dew of herbs, Isa. xxvii. 19 ; yea, he is the fountain of gar-
dens, Cant. iv. 15.
As to the manner of our Lord's funeral, several things may be
observed.
1. Joseph, inspired with an undaunted courage, went to Pilate,
and boldly asked the dead body of Jesus. Though while our Re-
deemer lived, Joseph was so far sunk under the power of fear and
cowardice, that he acted only as his secret disciple, yet now when he
is dead, holy boldness and courage rose to such a pitch in his spirit,
that he openly asked his body of Pilate, in order to a decent inter-
ment. Though he might have formed a party to have carried it off
by violence, yet he rather chose to do it in a regular and peaceable
manner ; and therefore made a dutiful application to Pilate, who
was the proper person to be addressed on this occasion, in regard he
had the disposal of the body. In things wherein the power of the
civil magistrate is concerned, due regard must be had to that power,
and nothing done to break in upon it.
2. Upon this application, Pilate very readily granted Joseph tho
body of Jesus, in order to its being decently interred. Perhaps by
this step he imagined to do something towards atoning that guilt
wherewith his conscience charged him in condemning an innocent
person. But whatever might be in this, it is certain, that, in Jo-
seph's petition and Pilate's ready grant of it, honour was done to
Christ, and a testimony borne to his integrity.
3. Joseph having obtained his desire, instantly repaired to the
accursed tree, from which he took down the body of Jesus ; and
mangled and mascerated as it was, carried it in his arms to a place
proper for its being dressed. Thus did he act under the prevailing-
conduct of the deepest and dearest love to his Redeemer.
4. Our Redeemer's body being brought into some adjoining house,
it was washed from blood and dust, and then wound in linen with
OF CHEISt's nUMILIATIOIf. 499
spices, as the manner of the Jews was. But why did Joseph and
Nicodemus make all this ado about the body of Christ? Thougli
perhaps in this their management we may discern the weakness of
their faith, for a firm belief of the resurrection of Christ the third
day would have saved them this care and cost, and have been more
acceptable than all spices ; yet herein we may evidently see the
strength of their love, together with the value they had for his per-
son and doctrine, which was no way lessened by the reproach of the
cross.
5. The time of our Lord's burial was on the day of the prepara-
tion, when the Sabbath drew on ; and this was the reason that they
made such haste with the funeral. Though they were in tears for
the death of Christ, yet they did not forget the work of an ap-
pi;oaching Sabbath ; but set themselves with all convenient speed
and care to prepare for it.
6. The company who attended our Redeemer's funeral, was not
any of the disciples, but only the women who came with him from
Galilee, who, as they staid by him while he hung upon the cross, so
they followed him all in tears, beheld the sepulchre where it was,
which was the way to it, and how his body was laid in it : and all
this they were led to, not by their curiosity, but by their affection
to the Lord Jesus, which was strong as death, cruel as the grave,
and which many waters could not quench.
7. The Redeemer's funeral was actually solemnized ; for after all
the above circumstances were over, then they acted as is related,
John xix. 41, 42. 'Now in the place where he was crucified, there
was a garden ; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was ne-
ver man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore, because of the
Jews preparation day, for the sepulchre was nigh at hand. ' There
laid they Jesus,' i. e. the dead body of Jesus. Some think that the
calling of that Jesus intimates the inseparable union between the
divine and human natures in his blessed person. Even this dead
body was Jesus a Saviour ; for his death is our life. Thus, without
pomp or solemnity, is the body of Jesus laid in the cold and silent
grave. Here lies our Surety arrested for our debt : so that if he be
released, his discharge will be ours. Here is the Sun of righteous-
ness set for a while to rise again in greater glory, and set no more.
Here lies a seeming captive to death, but a real conqueror over
death. Yea here lies death itself slain, and the grave conquered :
' Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Je-
sus Christ.'
Seventhly, Our Redeemer continued under the power of death
fur a time. ' For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the
500 OF cueist's humiliation.
whale's belly, so shall tlie Son of man be three days and three nights
in the heart of the earth, Matth. xii. 40, For clearing the import
of Christ's continuing under the power of death for a time, consider,
1. That death hath a very strange and strong power in the world,
which invades and prevails against all the children of men. ' Foi-
what man is he that liveth, and shall not see death ?' says the Psal-
mist. This interrogation plainly imports, that no man, high or low,
great or small, rich or poor, can possibly cover himself from the
stroke of death. And no wonder; for as the apostle tells us, 'death
hath reigned from Adam,' Rom. v. 14. The empire of death hath
made an universal spread through the face of the earth, and, with
an unrelenting fury, bears all the sons of men before it. And it is
no way strange it be so, seeing it acts under the conduct of Heaven's
irrepealable decree, ' It is appointed unto men once to die,' Heb.
ix. 27.
2. That the empire, power, and dominion of death, was intro-
duced into the world by sin, Rom. v. 12. ' By one man sin entered
into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men,
for that all have sinned. The wages of sin is death.' And there-
fore man no sooner gave into apostacy from his Maker, but the
awful sentence went forth, ' Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou
return,' Gen. iii. 19.
3. That our Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of life, fell under the
power of death, and that in its most frightful and amazing form :
for he died the painful, the cursed, the shameful, and lingering
death of the cross ; and this he did not by constraint, but with the
utmost cheerfulness.
4. That it was for the sins of his elect people that the Lord of
life came under the power of death. Their sins were imputed to
him : ' He was made sin for us,' says the apostle, ' who knew no
sin.' Because their sins were imputed to him, therefore death, the
punishment of sin, came upon him. He was not only wounded for
our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities, but he died for
our sins. He bare the sins of many ; and for the transgressions of
his people was he stricken, yea, stricken even unto death.
5. That though our Redeemer continued under the power of
death, yet it was only for a time. Though this king of terrors
brought the King of glory down to the gloomy shades of the grave,
yet he could not hold him long there. Hence the apostle says. Acts
ii. 24. ' God loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible
that he should be holden of it.' Christ was imprisoned for our debt,
and thrown into the hands of death ; but divine justice being satis-
fied, it was not possible that he should be detained there, either by
OP Christ's humiliation. 501
right or by force ; for he had life in himself, and in his own power,
and had conquered the prince of death.
6. That the time of our Redeemer's being under the power of
death was only till the third day. For he rose the third day after
his death : which was the time he had often prefixed, and he kept
within it. He was buried in the evening of the sixth day of the
week, and rose in the morning of the first day of the following
week ; so that he lay in the grave about thirty-six or thirty-eight
hours. He lay so long to shew that he was really and truly dead,
and no longer, that he might not see corruption.
If it should be asked, Wliat were the reasons and ends of this
amazing humiliation of the Son of God ? I answer, That Christ
humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross.
1. That he might satisfy divine justice in the room and stead of
an elect world. When man by sin rebelled against his rightful
Lord, incensed justice called aloud for vengeance upon the attro-
cious oflTender ; and had its rigorous demands been answered, all the
race of mankind had perished in the depths of death and damnation
for ever. But Christ, by the whole scene of his humiliation, has so
fully answered all its demands of his chosen, that it can crave no
more. For he by his obedience and satisfaction, as the Surety of
unjust sinners, has so perfectly paid all their debt, that justice is
completely atoned and i)acified. Hence opr Redeemer drew his
last breath on the cross with these words, ' It is finished.'
2. To confirm and seal his testament. He had bequeathed many
great and glorious legacies to his chosen ; all which had failed for
ever, if by his death he had not ratified and confirmed this his testa-
ment, * For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the
death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men arc
dead : otherwise it is of no strength at all whilst the testator liveth,'
Heb. ix. 16, 17- Wherefore, that our Lord's testament might in
that respect be made good, he sealed it with his heart's blood :
' This cup,' says he, ' is the new testament in my blood,' i. e. the
new testament, which is ratified by my blood.
3. To conquer and subdue the devil. This malicious and subtil
enemy of mankind had by his craft and power brought the whole
race of Adam in subjection to his empire, reigning over and leading
them captive at his pleasure. But our Lord through death des-
troyed him that had the power of death. It is true, the crucifying
of Jesus was the devil's plot ; for he put Judas upon betraying him,
the Jews upon accusing him, Pilate upon condemning him, and the
soldiers upon executing him. But our Lord outshot him in his own
602 OF Christ's itumtt.tation.
bow, and snared and took liim in his own liands. Tlins tlic devil,
by plotting and pushing on the death of the Son of God, to prevent
his own ruin, procured and promoted it.
4. To finish transgression, and put an end to sin, yea, to take
away sin with all its direful eff'ects, Rora. viii. 3. ' For what the law
could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his
own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin
in the flesh.' For when an elect world lay sunk under tlie guilt of
sin, captives under the power of it, vile under the pollution of it,
undone under the weight of it, and most miserable under the bane-
ful effects of it, Jesus humbled himself to the death on purpose to
rescue and deliver them from all this. ' TVe have redemption
through his blood,' says Paul, ' even the forgiveness of our sins, ac-
cording to the riches of his grace.' And says another apostle,
' The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from alt sin.'
5. To deliver his people from the curse of a broken law, and the
wrath of God. * Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,
being made a curse for us,' Gal. iii. 13. ' Jesus which delivered us
from the wrath to come,' 1 Thess. i. 10. When all the curses of the
law were marching forth, as it were in battle-array, against the
children of Adam, and the dreadful wrath of an Almighty God was
ready to pour in upon them, then did our Lord step in, and, by his
deeply debased birth, life, and death, divert the furious storm from
his chosen, so that not, one curse, or the least drop of wrath, shall
ever fall to their share.
6. Lastly, That in due time he might bring all his people to the
complete possession of immortal glory. When he saw them wallow-
ing and sinking in the depths of sin and iniquity ; when he saAV
them exposed to eternal death and damnation by reason of sin, and
when he took a view of them as absolutely unable to do any thing
towards their own relief and deliverance, his soul pitied them,
and his bowels of compassion yearned upon them ; so that in their
stead he satisfied divine justice, subdued their enemies, abolished sin
and death, rescued them from hell and wrath, and prepared for
them eternal life and glory,
I shall conclude with a few inferences.
1. Here see the love of Christ in its most distinguishing glory.
For the deeper he debased and the lower he humbled IHmself, the
higher did he raise, and the more clearly did he manifest his love.
What heart can conceive, what tongue can express, the greatness of
this love ! It is love without a precedent or parallel. It passe th
knowledge.
2. Here see the awful and tremendous severity of divine justice,
OF citi;t'=;t's uumiltattox, 503
which no less coiild satisfy than the Son of God's humbling himself,
and becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Its
resentment against sin swelled so high, that nothing could appease
it, or move it to let go the criminal -offenders, till the Son of God
fell an expiatory sacrifice to it. And when the time of its acting
this bloody tragedy upon our Redeemer came on, it would not fore-
go nor abate one tittle of its demands. It would not spare him in
one article of suffering which it could exact of him.
3. See here the prodigious evil of sin. Though the generality of
men look upon it with a very light and easy eye ; though they ac-
count it a very small matter to break in upon the divine law, and
to transgress the bounds which the great God has fixed therein ; yet
whoever duly reflects upon the deep humiliation and sorrowful suf-
ferings of Christ, will entertain quite other thoughts about it. Of
all evils sin is infinitely the worst. Though a holy and just God
has given many severe and terrible testimonies of his displea-
sure against sin, yet none of them appear with such an amazing awe
as that which appears in the humiliation, death, and sufferings of
his dear Son. -
4. Let this look the pride of our hearts out of countenance ; and
let us think nothing too mean or low for us, whereby the glory of
God and the good of others may be advanced. For Christ humbled
himself deeper and lower than any ever did or can do, to procure
the favour of God to sinners, to magnify the divine law and make it
honourable ; and therein hath left us an example, that we should
follow his steps.
5. Let this teach you highly to prize the salvation purchased by
Christ, and offered to sinners in the gospel. Say not of the suffer-
ings of Christ, by your slighting the redemption thereby procured,
AYhat needs all this waste ? Surely sin must be of a more malig-
nant nature, the justice of God more exact and rigorous, souls more
precious, and salvation and mercy more difficult to obtain, than is
ordinarily imagined. Take a view of Christ in his amazing humi-
liation and heavy sufferings, and see if ye can entertain those
thoughts.
6. Let impenitent sinners and rejecters of Christ tremble. Was
this done in the green tree, what shall be done to the dry ? If
Christ, when he became a sinner only by imputation was exposed to
such heavy sufferings as would have sunk millions of men and
angels, what shall be the fate of those who spurn at his love, reject
the offers of his grace and mercy, and refuse to accept of his salva-
tion? "What can they expect, but that the wrath of God shall come
upon them to the uttermost, and they shall undergo the sorest
punishment that incensed and insulted justice can inflict ?
504 OF Christ's exaltation.
7. Accept of Jesus Christ as he oifers himself in the gospel. Ho
is willing to receive sinners, nay, the very worst and most aban-
doned of them, or he had not swimmed through a sea of blood to
catch them. 0 ! be not despisers, but cheerful and willing re-
ceivers, of him who has written his love and good will to you in
characters of blood.
8. Revenge the death of Christ on your lusts and idols. Give no
quarter to, nor suffer them to live, that were the cause of his most
humiliating and ignominious death. To cherish any sin or lust, is a
high indignity done to the Son of God, and as it were a crucifying
him afresh. 0 ! then fly from every sin, account it your enemy,
and Christ's enemy ; and shew your love to the Redeemer, wlio
humbled himself so deeply for you, by doing whatsoever he com-
mands you, and avoiding all ai^pearauce of evil.
9. La^tli/, Grudge not to part with any thing for Christ. He left
the bosom of his Father, laid aside the robes of his glory, and ex-
posed himself to the severest hardships and most intolerable suffer-
ings, that you might not perish for ever ! and will ye refuse any
thing for his sake ? Ye have no reason to shift his cross, or decline
to take on his yoke, when he suffered on the accursed cross to pro-
cure your deliverance from everlasting wrath and burnings.
OF CHRIST'S EXALTATION.
Phil. ii. 9, 10, 11. — Wherefore God also hath highly/ exalted him, and
given hhn a naine xuhich is above every name : that at the name of
Jesus evert/ knee should boiu, of things in heaven, and things in earth,
and things under the eai-th ; and that every tongue should confess,
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Having spoke to the several parts of our blessed Redeemer's state
of humiliation, I come now to treat of the several branches of his
exaltation, or that high dignity and glory to which he is exalted, as
the reward of his suffering even unto death. This bright Sun set
as it were in a cloud, but he rose again, surrounded with the
brightest rays of the most exalted glory and splendour. This ex-
altation is held forth very expressly in the text, which, as it is op-
posed to his death, includes his resurrection, or releasement from
the grave. God has not only exalted him, but super-exalted him
above the earth in his ascension. The name above every name
which is given him, is the same in effect with his sitting at the right
OF Christ's exaltattox. 505
hand of God. The bowing of the knee is that acknowledgement of
this power, dignity, and anUiority of Christ, by angels, men, and
devils ; the great evidence of which shall be at the last day, Rora.
xiv. 10, 11. ' "We shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ.'
For it is written, ' As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow
to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.'
In discoursing further from this subject, I shall consider the se-
veral steps of our Lord's exaltation, as they are laid down from the
scriptures in our Catechism, viz. ' his rising from the dead on the
third day, his ascending up into heaven, his sitting at the right-
hand of God the Father, and his coming to judge tlie world at the
last day.'
I. The first step of his exaltation was his resurrection, his rising
out of the grave. Concerning this, consider the following things.
1. The nature of it. His resurrection was not the re-uniting of
his divine to his human nature, for death had not separated that
union, as I have formerly shewn ; but his re-uniting his soul to his
body, taking that life again which he had before laid down, John x.
17. And it was the very same body for substance which was cruci-
fied ; it was the very same body that fell under death that rose
again. It had been laid in the grave mangled and macerated with
blows, stripes, and wounds ; but in his resurrection the deformity
thereby occasioned was removed, and nothing but the prints of the
nails remained ; as appears from John xx. 25, 27.
2. The truth of his resurrection. Christ truly rose again. Tliis
truth was attested by the soldiers who guarded the sepulchre, as ye
will find, Matth. xxviii. 11 — 15. though the elders took care to
smother the effect thereof. His friends bore tlie most aniple testi-
mony to it ; such as the women who came to anoint his dead body,
his disciples and many others. To these, ' he shewed himself alive
after his passion, by many infallible proofs,' Acts i. 3. And we are
told, 1 Cor. XV. 6. that ' he was seen of above five hundred brethren
at once.' The evangelists are unanimous in this matter. This
truth is also manifest from the person's being God, who could not
be confined in a grave, and the many miracles wrought to confirm
it, evincing him to be alive, and reigning in glory.
3. The necessity of his resurrection. It was necessary he should
rise from the dead.
(1.) That the scripture might be fulfilled, 1 Cor. xv. 4. which can-
not be broken. See Psal. xvi. 10. ' Thou wilt not leave my soul in
hell (the state of tlic dead) ; neither wilt thou suffer thine lioly One
to see corruption.' This passage is expressly applied to the resur-
rection of Christ, Acts ii. 31. and xiii. 35. And it was prophesied
2 K
506 OF chkist's exaltation.
of hira : Isa. liii. 10. ' He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his
days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.' A
notable type of it was Jonah's coming out of the whale's belly,
Matth. xii. 40.
(2.) In respect of the dignity and glory of his person. He was
the true God and eternal life. How was it then i)0ssible, that he
should be holden by death ? Acts ii. 24.
(3.) In respect of his Mediatory office, which would have been
broken if he had not risen again. He was to reign for ever, Psal.
xlv. 7. Luke i. 32 ; to intercede as a Priest for ever, Psal. ex. 4.
and therefore to enter into the holiest of all, after he had expiated
our sins by his blood.
(4.) In respect of our salvation. If Christ had not risen, all the
elect's hopes of heaven had rotted in the grave for ever: 1 Cor. xv.
17. ' If Christ be not raised, (says the apostle), your faith is vain ;
ye are yet in your sins.' His resurrection was the life of his death,
and had he not by his resurrection overcome death ; it would for
ever have devoured us also.
4. The time of his resurrection, the third day. He was crucified
on Friday afternoon, and he arose early on the first day of the
week, which has from that event been called the Lord's day, and
observed as the Christian Sabbath in all the churches of Christ.
This period was long enough to confirm the truth of his death. His
body did not corrupt in the grave, Psal. xvi. 10. Acts xiii. 37. Nor
was it ever after mortal, but put on immortality, Rom. vi. 9.
' Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more ; death hath no
more dominion over him.' This was one difference betwixt Christ's
resurrection and that of Lazarus, who rose again only to a mortal
life.
5. The author of his resurrection. The resurrection of Christ is
ascribed to himself, and we are firmly to believe that he rose by his
own power, John ii. 19. ' Destroy this temple, (says he), and in
three days I will raise it up.' John x. 17- 'I lay down my life, that
I might take it again.' And this the scripture insists upon as an
argument of the divinity of Christ, Rom. i. 4. where he is said to be
' declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit
of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead :' which must needs
be thus understood ; for Lazarus also was raised ; yet no such thing-
followed on it. It is ascribed also unto the Father, Rom. vi. 4.
But there is no inconsistency here : for whatsoever the Father doth,
the Son also doth the same, the external works of the Trinity being
common to each person. The reason why Christ's resurrection is
ascribed to the Father, is, that he acted therein as a judge, letting
out the prisoner when the debt was paid.
OP ctirist's exaltatiox. "St (7
G. The manner of our Lord's resurrection.
(1.) It was ushered in with a terrible earthquake, Matth. xxviii.
2. ' Behold, there was a great earthquake.' As the earth shook
and trembled at our Lord's passion, so did it also at his glorious
resurrection from the dead. This was an extraordinary and miracu-
lous shaking of the earth, proceeding immediately from the divine
power, as the eclipse of the sun which happened during his passion.
It was a sign of triumph, and a token of victory, by which our Lord
intimated to the whole world, that he had overcome death in its
own dominions, and lifted up his head as a glorious conqueror above
all his enemies. He came out of the grave with great solemnity,
and marched out of the bloody field with a pomp and majesty be-
coming the dignity of Heaven's champion.
(2.) Christ in his resurrection was attended by some of the cour-
tiers of heaven, Matt, xxviii. 2. ' An angel of the Lord descended
from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door,
and sat upon it.' Christ's power was not confined to the grave or
the earth, but extended to heaven and all the host of it. Though
the chief priests and Pharisees conspired together to keep him close
shut up in the grave, sealed the stone which was rolled to the door
of it, set a watch, and made all things as sure as they possibly
could, yet one of the heavenly host by a touch baflled all their mea-
sures. The angel of the Lord rolled back the stone from the door,
and sat upon it. This action speaks a secure triumph over all the
obstructions of Christ's resurrection. He sat on the stone, defying
all the powers of hell to roll the stone to the grave again : and he
sat as a guard to the grave ; for having frightened away the ene-
my's black guard, he sat expecting the women to give them an ac-
count of our Lord's resurrection, as he very pathetically did, ver. 6.
' He is not here : for he is risen, as he said : come, see the place
where the Lord lay.'
(3.) He laid aside all the ensigns of mortality and death : for he
stript himself of the grave-clothes, and left them behind him, John
XX. 5, 6, 7. The reasons of this laying them aside might be these.
[1.] Because he rose to die no more. Lazarus came out with his
grave-clothes on, because he was to die again ; but Christ rising to
an immortal life, came out free from all these incumbrances. [2.]
Because he was going to be clothed with robes of glory. [3.] Ho
left these clothes in the grave, as it were for the use of his people
For if the grave be a bed to the saints, he hath thus sheeted it, and
made it ready for them, that in it they may lie quietly and easily
till the morning of the resurrection, when they shall enter into the
full and eternal possession of the glory that is to bo revealed,
2 ic 2
508 OP Christ's exaltation.
These gravc-clotlics were found in very good order ; wliich sliew*
that his body was not stolen away when the watch slept, as the
chief priests and elders foolishly bade tlieni say. Robbers of tombs
liave been known to take away the clothes and leave the body ; but
none ever took away the body, and left the clothes, especially when
they were made of fine linen and new.
(4.) Christ's resurrection was attended with that of many others,
Matt, xxvii. 52, 53. ' The graves were opened, and many bodies of
saints which slept arose, and came out of their graves after his re-
surrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.'
Here observe, (1.) "Who they were that rose. They are expressly
called saints, persons sanctified by the Spirit and grace of God : for
such only shall rise by the virtue and power of Christ's resurrection.
Who they were, whether the ancient patriarchs, the Old Testament
martyrs, or more modern saints, who lived in Christ's time, but died
before him, cannot be determined. (2.) That their number was con-
siderable ; they are called many. The benefits of our Lord's resur-
rection extends to many. (3.) The time of their rising was posterior
to Christ's resurrection. For though before this the earth did
quake, the rocks rend, and the graves were opened, yet none of
them stirred out of these dark mansions till Clirist was risen. It is
iu virtue of Christ's resurrection, that the bodies of all the saints
shall in the fulness of time rise again. (4.) They went into the
holy city, and appeared unto many. They did not appear to all the
people, but to many ; but whether friends or enemies, in what man-
ner they appeared, how often, what they did and said, and how they
disappeared, are secret things not to be known. It is very probable,
however, that the great design of their apj)eariiig to so many was to
bear testimony to the truth and certainty, to the power and glory of
our Redeemer's resurrection. [5.] What became of these saints af-
terwards, is a question not easy to be determined. Some are of
opinion, that as they rose only to bear witness of Christ's resurrec-
tion to those to whom they appeared, so having finished this their
work, they retired to their graves again. But it seems to be more
agreeable both to the Redeemer's honour and theirs, to suppose,
that they rose, as he did, to die no more, and therefore ascended
with him into glory.
7. The fruits of Christ's resurrection. Amongst many, I only
name the following.
(1.) It is an argument of his having made complete satisfaction
to the justice of God for the sins of his people, John xvi. 10.
When the just Judge opens the prison door, it says that the pri-
soner's debt is fully paid, and he has received satisfaction for all
OF Christ's exaltatioit. 509
demands from him. Christ's resurrection was in eft'ect a discliarge
of all the debt he had taken upon him to pay.
(2.) It is an argument, that the bodies of the elect shall be raised
at the last day, 1 Cor. xv. 20. ' Now is Christ risen from the dead,
and become the first fruits of them that slept.' If Christ has risen,
the power of death is broken. And the same Spirit dwells in his
members, Rom. viii. 11. And all the benefits of the covenant shall
be made forthcoming, seeing he is alive to become executor of his
own testament.
(3.) The duty of believers flowing from this is to walk in newness
of life, Rom. vi. 4. They are to rise from the grave of sin, and to
put on the robes of true holiness. Dead sinners are not fit members
of a living head.
II. Christ ascended into heaven, the seat of the blessed. Concer-
ning this, let us observe,
1. In what respect he ascended. Not in respect of his divine na-
ture, for that can change no place, and is confined to no place ; but
in respect of his human nature, which is so present in one jdace,
that it cannot be in another at the same time, and it changetli one
place for another by local motion. It was his human body that
ascended into heaven, and which the heavens must contain till the
restitution of all things,
2. The reality of his ascension. He did not merely disappear,
but by a local motion went up from the earth into the highest hea-
vens, leaving the one, and going to the other. And he ascended in
a visible manner, before the eyes of his disciples.
3. The time of it, which was forty days after his resurrection.
Acts i. 2, 3. This his long stay on the earth was the blessed eft'ect
of his matchless and unparalleled love to his church and people.
Though inefi'able glory was prepared and waiting for him in heaven,
yet he would not go .to possess it till he had ordered all things
aright that concerned the good of his followers here on earth.
More particularly, he staid so long on earth,
(1.) That he might the more convincingly testify unto his disciples
the truth of his humanity, and confirm them in the faith of his being
truly man.
(2.) To confirm them still the more strongly in the faith of his
resurrection from the dead. This was a truth which the disciples
were not easily induced to believe. Hence when they first heard it
from Mary Magdalene, and the other women that had been at the
sepulchre, it is said, tluit ' their words seemed to them as idle tales,
and they believed them not,' Luke xxiv. 11. lint his staying so
long on the earth, and frequently conversing with them, gave them
2k3
510 OP ciikist'r exaltation.
i'liU assurance of the reality of liis resurrectiou. He showed himself
alive to them by many infallible proofs. He walked and talked
with them, ate and drank with them. He again and again shewed
them the marks of the Abounds in his hands, and feet, and side ;
which was the utmost proof the thing was capable of or required.
Besides, it was not one or two, but many proofs which he gave them
of this ; for he was seen by them forty days ; not indeed constantly
residing with them, but frequently appearing to them, and bringing
them by degrees to be fully satisfied of the truth of his resurrection.
(3.) To instruct them more clearly and perfectly in the knowledge
of the mysteries of his kingdom, which after his departure they
were to preach and propagate through the world. lie had given
them a general idea of that kingdom, and of the time when it should
be set up, in the parable of the vineyard, Mark xii. ; but upon this
occasion he let them more clearly into the nature of it, as a king-
dom of grace in this world, and of glory in that which is to come ;
and no doubt opened to them that covenant which is the great char-
ter by which it is incorporated. Thus our Lord did not entertain
his disciples with discourses about politics in the kingdoms of men,
about philosophy in the kingdom of nature, but about pure divinity
and his spiritual kingdom, which were matters of greatest concern,
both to themselves and to those to whom they were in a little time
to preach.
4. The manner of our Lord's ascension.
(L) He ascended not figuratively and metaphorically, but really
and corporeally, by a local translation of his human nature from the
earth to the highest heavens. He ascended from a mount, an high
and eminent place, to ascertain his disciples of the truth of his as-
cension. He did not withdraw himself from them as at other times,
but ascended openly in the view of them all, they looking stedfastly
toward heaven as he went up. He ascended from the Mount of
Olives, that he might enter on his glory nigh the place of his suffer-
ings, and the last tragical scene of his life. It was at this mount
that his heart was made sad ; for there he began to be sorrowful
and sore amazed : and it was there also that his heart was made
glad, and filled with ineffable and triumphant joy. The same place
afforded him a passage both to his cross and to his crown ; for there
his sorrows and sufferings began, and from thence he ascended into
heaven.
(2.) He ascended while he was blessing his disciples. He blessed
them as one having authority ; yea, commanded the blessing upon
them. And while he was so employed, he was parted from them, to
intimate that his being so did not put an end to his blessing
OP ourist's exaltation. 511
thera, but that this privilege was to be continued with them by virtue
of his powerful intercession for them in heaven. The first tidings of
our Redeemer's birth were attended with praises to God and bles-
sings to men : he began his public ministry with pronouncing bles-
sings on certain characters, Matth. v. ; when he died, he breathed
. out his soul in blessings to his enemies, ' Father, forgive them, for
they know not what they do ;' and just when he was leaving the
world, he was translated with a blessing in his mouth.
(3.) He ascended powerfully, even by his own almighty power.
As by the power of his eternal Godhead he broke through the
gloomy shades of the grave, and rose again to an immortal life ; so
by the same almighty strength he went gloriously up through the
yielding air into the bright regions of eternal light. Enoch and
Elijah were both translated soul and body into heaven ; but this
was not by their own, but by a divine power which exerted itself
upon that occasion, by the ministry of angels. But our Redeemer
went up upon the wings of his own almighty power.
(4.) He ascended softly and gradually. Though his conduct in
this matter could not but strike with a strong surprise upon the
minds of his disciples, yet his motion was so plain, easy, and dis-
tinct, that it fell very clearly under their observation ; for while
they beheld he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their
sight.' Thus he departed by little and little, and not in a rapturous
haste.
(5.) He ascended in a glorious and triumphant manner.
[1.] There was a cloud prepared as his royal chariot to carry him
up to his princely palace. A cloud, in the natural notion of it, is
a thick and moist vapour, drawn up from the earth or sea, by the
heat of the sun, to the middle region of the air, Avhere it is con-
densed, congealed, and thickened, by the coldness of the place, and
so hangs or moves like a huge mountain in the midst of the air,
partly from natural causes, the sun or the wind, but especially by
supernatural ones, the mighty power and appointment of God, who
is said to use the clouds as princes do horses of state or chariots of
triumph to ride on. Thus he descended in a cloud to Moses, and
proclaimed the name of the Lord, Exod. xxxiv. 5 : and it is said,
Isa. xix. 1. 'Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud.' We
find the clouds were serviceable to our Redeemer : for a bright
cloud overshadowed him at his transfiguration ; he was carried up
in a cloud to heaven at his ascension ; and at the last day the clouds
will be the chariots which will bring him to judgment. Hereby
Christ discovered himself to be the Lord of all the creatures. Ho
had already trode upon the earth, walked upon the sea, van-
512 OF CJIRIST's EXALTATION,
(jiiished hell aiul the grave ; and now ho makes the clouds his cha-
riots, and rides upon the wings of the wind.
(2.) In his ascension he was attended with a bright and blessed
retinue of glorious angels. These angelic spirits graced the solem-
nity of his birth with anthems of triumphant joy; they ministered
to him at the conclusion of his forty days' temptation by the devil ;
when he was exposed to his amazing agony in the garden the even-
ing before his crucifixion, they waited on him ; and now, when he is
making his triumphant entrance into glory, their presence adds to
the glorious solemnity of the happy day. To this we may add, that
it is not an improbable supposition, that on this grand occasion he
was attended with the company of those many saints that rose from
the dead after his resurrection ; whom he carried along with him,
not only to grace the solemnity of his ascension, but as the first
fruits of his triumph over death and the grave, and a demonstra-
tive evidence that the rest should follow in due time.
(8.) He went to heaven as a glorious conqueror, triumphing over
all his enemies. ' When he ascended upon high,' says the apostle,
' he led captivity captive,' Eph. iv. 8. As conquerors of old in
their solemn triumphs used to lead their captives fettered with iron
chains : so Christ having spoiled principalities and powers, made a
shew of them openly, iriumphing over them. Col. ii. 15. Some
think that at Christ's ascension there was some real visible triumph,
some open pomp and shew, in which the devils were led as chained
captives through the air : which was visible, not to all, but to God,
the angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect. But what-
ever be in this, it is certain that Christ fought and overcame all his
enemies : he gave them the last blow upon the cross, he seized on
the spoil at his resurrection, and led them in triumph at his ascen-
sion into heaven, and by his peaceable possession of his throne his
subjects enjoy the benefit of all.
(4.) He ascended into heaven with shouts and acclamations of
great joy, Psal. xlvii. 5. ' God is gone up with a shout, the Lord
with the sound of a trumpet.' Hence, (1.) His ascension was cele-
brated with the acclamations of angels. If they sang so cheerfully
when they came to proclaim his birth, 0 what shouts and jubila-
tions were heard among them when they accompanied him in his
triumphant entrance into heaven ! The whole city of God was
moved at his coming ; the very heavens resounded, and echoed their
acclamations of joy. Hence is that passage, Psal. xxiv. 7- ' Lift
up your heads, 0 ye gates ; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors ;
and the King of glory shall come in.' The entry of a mighty and
victorious prince is there described ; and so it is proper unto Christ :
OF Christ's exaltattox. 513
they applaud him there as a mighty conqueror, newly returned from
the spoils of his enemies. (2.) The blessed saints make the like
applauses, as*the prophet describes it, Isa. Ixiii. 1, 2, 3. ' Who is
this that Cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah ? this
that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his
strength ? T that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Where-
fore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that
treadeth in, the wine-fat ? I have trodden the wine-press alone,
and of the people there was none with me : for I will tread them in
mine anger, and trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be
sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.'
There is here a dialogue between Christ and the saints, to express
their acclamations at his victory. They are represented a^ filled
with admiration at his glorious triumphs over all his enemies : and
they celebrate his victorious return from so bloody a battle, like a
great and valiant general, gloriously adorned with rich robes and
royal apparel, and besprinkled with the blood of his implacable
enemies. (3.) God testifies his approbation of what Christ had
done, by giving him a kindly welcome home to heaven, Psal. ex. 1.
' The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I
make thine enemies thy footstool :' As if he had said, ' Thy work
is well done. Son, thou art welcome home to glory ; sit now at my
right hand,' &c. And on this account it is said, Dan. vii. 13. ' I
saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man, came
with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and
they brought him near before him.' This vision of Christ was ac-
complished in his ascension. The holy angels bring him to the Fa-
ther, called here, ' the Ancient of Days,' who gloriously rewards
him for his toil and travel on earth, and his bloody suiFerings in ac-
complishing the work of man's redemption, and receives him as it
were with open arms, rejoicing exceedingly to see hira again in hea-
ven; and therefore he is said to be 'received up into glory,' 1 Tim.
iii. 16.
(5.) He ascended into heaven in a most munificent manner, be-
stowing many royal gifts and blessings upon his people. Hence
says the apostle, Eph. iv. 8. ' When he ascended up on high, he led
captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.' The apostle here re-
fers to Psal. Ixviii. 13. ' Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led
captivity captive ; thou hast received gifts for men ; yea, for the
rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.' There
is here an allusion to the ancient customs of princes or generals,
who, after some glorious achievements, or victories, used to mount
their triumphant chariot, and enter into their royal cities attended
•514 OF ciiuist's exaltation,
by their captive enemies, and afterwards to distribute gifts to their
subjects and soldiers. Thus Christ, at his glorious ascension, when
he entered heaven with solemn triumph, bestowed man*^ rich and in-
estimable gifts upon men, to fit and qualify them for the work of
the ministry, and to edify his mystical body. Some of these gifts
were extraordinary, as the gifts of tongues and miracles, which were
necessary and very useful in the first ages of Christianity. Others,
again, were ordinary, and are to continue to the end of the world.
And these are of various kinds. To some he gives depths of learn-
ing and a profound judgment ; to others a gaining elocution ; to
some a mighty pathos, and melting influence upon the affections,
and to others a forcible power of arguing. But they are all de-
signed to gain souls to Christ, and promote the interests of his king-
dom.
5. Why, or for what ends Christ ascended into heaven.
1. That he might be solemnly inaugurated and installed in glory.
This was due unto him by Mediatory compact. He was to drink of
the brook in the way, and therefore should he lift his head. This
was the order that God appointed for his exaltation. The combat
was to precede his triumph. He was first to suffer, and then to en-
ter into glory. Hence we read, 1 Pet. i. 11. that ' the Spirit did
testify beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should
follow.' His triumphant laurel grew upon the thorns of his cross,
and received a verdure from his dying tears. The palms spread in
his way at his entrance into Jerusalem a little before his death, are
regarded by some as an emblem of this, it being the nature of that
plant to grow and increase the higher by the weights that are hung
upon it. For so did our blessed Lord rise to a more glorious and
triumphant height by his heavy pressures.
(2.) To make way for the Spirit. For if Christ had not gone
away, the Comforter had not come. This plentiful effusion of the
Spirit was very necessary to fit and qualify the apostles for propa-
gating the gospel through the world. Such weak and illiterate men
as they generally were, could not have managed so great a work
without a mighty magazine of divine eloquence and vigorous cou-
rage. It was therefore needful that our great High Priest should
enter into the holy place, and appear before God with the blood of
his sacrifice ; that the treasures of the Spirit might be opened, and
that the divine flame might issue out thence to inspire them with
abilities for so great an undertaking.
(3.) To plead and make intercession for his people. After he
had shed his precious blood on the earth for the expiation of their
sin, he rose again from the dead, and went up into heaven as their
I
OF Christ's exaltatiok. 515
Advocfvte and Intercessor, that, hj virtue of his meritorious sacri-
fice, he might answer all the charges brought against them, and sue
out all the good things promised to them.
(4.) To prepare mansions of glory for all his followers, John xiv.
2. These were indeed prepared for them from all eternity, jn the
immutable purpose and decree of Go'd, and from the foundation of
the world by his creative power. But they were further prepared
by Christ's ascension. And this lies in the following particulars.
[1.] By this he set open the gates of heaven, that poor sinners
might enter in. He removed all the bars and obstructions that
were in the way, and made a patent passage for them into glory.
[2.] He hath as a public person taken possession of the celestial
kingdom in their name. On this account he is called ' the forerun-
ner,' Heb. vi. 20. [3.] He prepares it for his people, in his sancti-
fying and purifying it for them. This was typified of old by the
sprinkling the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, with
the blood of the sacrifices. Hence it is said, Heb. ix. 23, 24. ' It
was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens
should be purified with these ; but the heavenly things themselves
with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the
holy i)laces made with hands, which are the figures of the true ; but
into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.'
We are not to think that heaven was polluted, and so under any
necessity of being made clean : but the cry of man's sin had as-
cended up on high, as it were with a stinking savour; and therefore
Christ behoved to go up and perfume it with his precious merit.
[4.] He prepares it for his people, in providing and fitting all things
for their entertainment against they come ; as Joseph was sent into
Egypt to prepare for his father Jacob.
Lastly ,The duty that this lays on all that pretend interest in
Christ. (1.) Let our hearts be there where our Lord is. Hence is
that exhortation. Col. iii. 1, 2. ' If ye then be risen with Christ, seek
those things that are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand
of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the
earth.' Let us not be pursuing earthly things as our treasure, but
live in this world as those whose heads are homeward, to the house
prepared by their ascended Lord. (2.) Let us thence be encouraged
to encounter with magnanimity and courage all difficulties that we
may meet with in our Christian course and warfare ; knowing that
we shall be conquerors at last through him that loved us. Christ
fought his Avay to the glory promised him through legions of armed
hosts ; and so must we, if we would be conformed to him as oui-
Head: he has reached to the crown as the reward of iiis obedience
516 OF Christ's exaltation.
and sufferings ; and so sluall we if we follow on in his strength :
* Let us,' therefore, ' lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth
so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set
before us,' Heb. xii, 1,
III. The third step of our Lord's exaltation, is his sitting at the
right hand of God.
This phrase, ' the right hand of God,' Heb. i. 3. Mark xvi. 19.
Eph. i. 20. 1 Pet. iii. 22. is not to be taken properly but in a figu-
rative sense. For God being a pure Spirit, is void of all bodily
parts. When it is said, that Christ sits at God's right-hand, it is a
borrowed expression, wherein the Lord is pleased to condescend to
the weakness of our capacities, to the end we may form suitable
thoughts of that glorious and exalted state into which Christ is ad-
vanced in the heavens. The phrase is wholly metaphorical, taken
from the custom of kings and princes, who use to place those at
their right hands, and next to themselves, upon whom they would
confer the chief marks of favour and honour. More particularly,
the right hand denotes,
1. Majesty and honour. It is the place we confer upon those we
highly esteem. Thus, Solomon placed his mother at his right-hand,
when he was set on his royal throne, 2 Kings ii. 19. And it is
said of the church, the spouse of Christ, to denote the honour that
he puts upon her, that ' she is at his right-hand,' Psal. xlv. 9. ' Upon
thy right-hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.' So God, in
testimony of the great honour and esteem that he puts upon Christ
as Mediator, hath set him at his right-hand, which on this account is
called ' the right-hand of the Majesty on high,' Heb. i, 3.
2. His power. Hence saith the Psalmist, Psal. Ixxvii. 10. ' I
said, This is my infirmity : but I will remember the years of the
right-hand of the Most High.' There we find God's power under
the metonymy of a right hand, opposed to the infirmity of his ser-
vant. ' My infirm and weak faith (saith Asaph) made me apt to
sink under the weight of Heaven's displeasure ; but when I called
to mind my sweet experiences of the divine power which had been
exerted- for my deliverance in former distresses, this revived my
spirit, and refreshed me again.
Christ's ' sitting at the right-hand of God,' implies the following
things.
1. A state of rest, Micah iv. 4. ' They shall sit every man under
his vine and under his fig-tree.' Christ had a troublesome life while
in the world ; but now that he has finished the work the Father
gave him to do, ' he has for ever sat down at the right hand of God,'
Heb. X. 12. and is thereby set beyond the reach of men and devils.
OF cttrtst's exaltatiok. 517
While here, they would give him no rest from his cradle to his
grave ; but now they may tear his picture, and persecute his mem-
bers, but they cauuot reach his person.
2. Continuance in that state, 2 Kings vii. 3. ' Why sit we here
until we die ?' said the four leprous men at the gate of Samaria.
The days of sorrow that he met with on earth shall never recur ; his
crown shall flourish on his head, and his kingdom stand firm and be
established.
His ' sitting at Grod's right hand' denotes,
1. The accomplishment of that work, and the consummation of all
those offices, which he was to perform on the earth for the redemp-
tion of elect sinners. For till all this was finisbed, he was not to
return to his glory. ' For he that hath entered into his rest, hath
ceased from his woi"ks, as God did from his,' Heb. iv. 10.
2. The great delight and satisfaction that the Father had in
Christ, and in that glorious work which he had finished. When he
returned from earth to heaven, the Father welcomed him with the
greatest testimony of satisfaction and joy, ' Sit thou on my right
hand,' &c. Psal. ex. 1.
3. The great honour and dignity to which he is advanced in hea-
ven. While he was here on earth he vailed his divinity with the
infirmities of the flesh, and lived in a mean and low condition : but
now he is exalted to the highest honour. In this respect he hath
bestowed more honour on his own Son as Mediator, than ever he did
on any creature : for, as it is said, Heb. i. 13. ' To which of the an-
gels said he at any time. Sit thou at my right hand, until I make
thine enemies thy footstool ?'
4. His being invested Avith sovereign dominion and supreme au-
thority and power. ' God hath highly exalted him, and given him
a name above every name,' Phil. ii. 9, 10. ' He hath set him at his
own right-hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality,
and power, and might, and dominion, &c. ' Thou madest him a little
lower than the angels,' i. e. in respect of his state of humiliation on
the earth ; ' thou hast crowned him with glory and honour, and set
him over the works of thy hands, and hast put all things in subjec-
tion under his feet, Ileb. ii. 7, 8.
It is Christ as Mediator that sits at the .Father's right hand.
With respect to his divine nature, which in the days of liis flesh
was as a bottle in the smoke, apparently sullied and vailed, it now
breaks forth in all its essential glory and splendour. And with
regard to his human nature, which while tabernacling here bore the
likeness of sinful flesh, and had nothing more engaging in it than
that of other men to outward aspect, it has attained a glory far
518 OK ciiuist's kxaltation.
superior to all creatures, even the very angels being made subject t<i
the man Christ.
The ends for which our Redeemer sitteth at the right hand of God
are these following.
1. That, as a mighty King, he may protect and defend his churcli
and people, against the rage of all their enemies, both temporal and
spiritual, Isa. xxxii. 1, 2 ; Deut. xxxiii. 26, 27.
2. That he may subdue all the enemies of his kingdom and peo-
ple, the devil, with all his retinue, the world, the llesh, sin, and hell,
Psal. ex. 1. Acts ii. 36. Heb. x. 12, 13. 1 Cor. xv. 25.
3. That with royal munificence he may dispense unto all his
faithful subjects all those gifts and graces that may qualify them
for the fruition of that glory that is to be revealed. Acts v. 31.
3. That he may act the j)art of a powerful Intercessor for them,
Rom. viii. 34.
5. That all his friends and followers may with him be translated
into heaven, and advanced unto a glorious state, being made kings
and priests unto God, Eph. i. 4, 5, 6. Rev. iii. 21.
Use. Behold here the great difference between our Redeemei-'s
state while here on earth, and what it is now in heaven. How won-
derfully is the scene chauged ! "When he was on earth, he lodged
in a stable, but now he reigns in a royal palace. Then he had a
manger for his cradle, but now he sits in a chair of state. While
here he was hated and scorned by men, but now he is adored by
angels. Here his name was reproached and reviled, but there he
hath a name above every name. Here he was a man of sori'ows,
and acquainted with grief ; but now he is anointed with the oil of
gladness, and filled with inexpressible delight and joy. While here
he seemed to have no form or comeliness why he should be desired ;
but now he is manifestly the brightness of his Father's glory, and
the express image of his person. Here he lay grovelling upon the
ground, sAveating drops of clotted blood ; but there he sits upon a
royal throne, surrounded with many myriads of holy angels. Here
he groaned, but there he triumphs ; here he was crucified, but there
he is crowned.
2. Behold how highly our nature is dignified and ennobled, in the
person of our Redeemer. It is far exalted above that of the
angels ; and these glorious spirits bow the knee to him who is bone
of our bone, and flesh of our flesh. *
3. This lets us see that the redemption of lost sinners, that was
brought about by the death of Christ was very pleasing unto the
Father. The great dignity and honour that is now conferred upon
him, speaks a fragrancy in his satisfaction to God, as well as a ful-
ness of merit for the sons of men.
OP Christ's exaltation. 519
4. Then we sliould draw near to him in all the duties of worship,
with the most awful reverence and deepest prostration of soul, such
as becomes the glory and dignity of his adorable Majesty. Let us
have grace whereby we may serve him acceptably, witli reverence
and godly fear.
5. Then let this exalted Saviour have your hands and your
heart. Will ye deny him a lodging in your souls, to whom the
Father has given to sit on his right hand ? The rejecting of Christ
in his humble estate, was grievously punished on many individuals,
and occasioned the destruction of the Jewish church and nation.
And shall ye escape, if ye reject him now in his exalted and en-
throned state ? It is better that our hearts be his throne, where he
may sway his sceptre in a way of mercy and grace, than that we be
made his footstool in wrath.
6. Let this settle and compose the hearts of the Lord's people,
with respect to the state of religion, and the interests of Christ's
kingdom among men. Christ is seated on his throne, and will see
to his interest in the world. Ziou's Grod and King reigneth, Isa.
Hi. 7- If Christ be on his throne, all his enemies shall be de-
stroyed. As sure as he reigns King for ever, so sure shall Anti-
clirist be degraded and hurled from his throne, and all the rags he
has left behind him in the Protestant churches be burnt up.
IV. The last step of our Lord's exaltation, is his coming to judge
the world at the last day. As I discoursed to you of this for-
merly*, I shall be the briefer now. I shall endeavour a little to
consider,
1. The manner and circumstances of Christ's coming to judge tlio
world.
2. The Judge.
3. The parties to be judged.
4. The matters about which they are to be judged.
5. The propei'ties of it.
6. The final causes of the judgment.
FinsT, I am to consider the manner and circumstances of Christ's
coming to judge the world.
1. He shall come with observation, in the view of the whole as-
sembled world : for all the kindreds of the earth shall on that day
see this mighty Personage with their bodily eyes. None of all the
sons and daughters of Adam can possibly avoid this wonderful
sight. > ' Behold he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him,
* This probably is the discourse on The General Judgment inserted in the Fourfold
State, as no other Sermon on that subject is to be found among the author's MSS.
520 OF oitrtst's exaltation.
and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him,' Rev. i. 7-
2. Though he shall come with observation, or in a visible manner,
yet he will do so very suddenly and surprisingly. As the universal
deluge found the old world sleeping in the deepest security, so at
the second coming of Christ the sinners of the last times will be
drenched in slumbering stupidity, as is plain from Mattli, xxiv. 37,
38, 39. In short, the coming of a thief'to break a house, is not
more surprising to those in it, than Christ's coming to judgment will
be to sinners. Hence the apostle says, 1 Thess. v. 2. ' Yourselves
know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the
night.'
3. He will come very seasonably, at the very precise point
and period of time fixed upon in the eternal councils of heaven.
"When once that memorable moment begins, he will delay no longer,
but instantly rend the heavens, and come down, 2 Pet. iii. 9, 10.
4. He will come very terribly. In that day the radiant rays of
his majestic glory will break out with such an awful brightness, as
will cause convulsions of the most formidable horror in the breasts
of the ungodly. See Rev. vi. 14 — 17-
5. He will come gloriously : for ' then sliall they see the Son of
man coming with great power and glory,' Mark xiii. 26. To evince
this, consider,
(1.) That this coming will be ushered in with that which our
Lord himself calls 'the sign of the Son of man,' Matth. xxiv. 30.
What this sign of the Son of man is, interpreters are not agreed.
Some take it to be Christ himself, others the burning up of the
world, others the sound of the last trumpet, and the Papists the
cross. But I think none of these can be the sign of the Lord Christ
coming to judgment. I rather incline to follow the opinion of a
judicious divine, who gathers what the sign of the Son of man is
from Matth. xxiv. 27. ' For as the lightning cometh out of the east,
and shineth even unto the west ; so shall also the coming of the Son
of man be ;' that is, with infinite brightness and splendour will he
come at that day. When he appears the second time without sin
unto salvation, such rays of radiant brightness will set upon and
shine from his body, as will darken all other lights, and awaken the
drowsy world to look for his coming. Now, that such a brightness
will encompass and shine from our Redeemer's body, we have no
reason to doubt, seeing at his transfiguration upon the Mount ' his
face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was as white as the*light,'
Matth. xvii. 2. Now, all this beauty and brightness that appeared
on our Redeemer's body at his trausliguration, was but a type and
figure of that refulgent splendour which will shine from it in that
OF Christ's exaltation. 521
day when he will come to judge the world in righteousness. And
this matchless and marvellous brightness we may presume to be
that which he himself calls * the sign of the Son of Man.'
(2.) "When our Lord comes, the whole frame of nature will suffer
the most fearful convulsions, and at last be rolled up in an uni-
versal flame, Psal. 1. 3. Dan. vii. 9, 10. When once this mighty
flame breaks out, it will burn with the keenest fury, and lay the
earth, with all its works, in heaps of ruinous rubbish, 2. Pet. iii. 10.
3. At his coming he will be attended with a splendid retinue of
ten thousand times ten thousand glorious angels. The flaming sera-
phims, those mighty ministers of his Avho fulfil all his pleasure,
shall in a magnificent body form a majestic cavalcade, when the
Prince of the kings of the earth comes to judgment, Matth. xvi. 27.
2 Thess. i. 7. Dan vii. 10.
4. When he comes, he will sit upon a throne high and lifted up ;
and before him shall the general assembly of men and devils, be so-
lemnly sisted, Matth. xxv. 31, 32. Rev. xx. 11, 12.
Secondly, I come now to speak of the Judge. And this is the
Lord Jesus Christ. ' For, (says the apostle) we must all appear be-
fore the judgment-seat of Christ,' 2 Cor. v. 10. Now, he is ordained
Judge of the world.
1. Because this Judgment is to be acted visibly. Men are to be
judged, and the whole process with them will be for things done in
the body. Now God is invisible in his nature, and therefore hath
most wisely ordained the last judgment of the world to be trans-
acted by a visible person. The Son of God will appear in his hu-
man nature, seated on a visible throne, that he may be seen and
heard of all.
2. Because Christ is only qualified for this office. (1.) On ac-
count of the great dignity and excellency of his person, being God-
man. No mere creature is capable of so high a trust, and such a
glorious commission. To pass a sovereign sentence upon angels and
men, is a royalty reserved for the Son of God alone, (2.) On ac-
count of the immense difficulty of this work. No mere creature is
able to discharge it. If a select number of the holy angels of the
highest order were deputed for this purpose, they could not manage
the judicial trial of one man. For, besides the innumerable acts
and omissions in one life, the secret springs of the heart, from
whence the guilt or goodness of moral actions is derived, are not
open to them, "* It is he alone who discerns all things that can re-
quire an account of all.
3. He is constituted Judge of the world, as a reward of his death
and bloody sutferings. So the apostle declares, Phil. ii. 8, 9, 10.
2l
522 OF Christ's exaltation.
His victorious sufferings are the titles to his triumphs. His being
so iguominiously condemued by men, is the just reason of his ad-
vancement to this dignity and glory. This will for ever roll away
the ignominy of his cross.
TiiixiDLY, Who are they that shall be judged ? All must appear
before Christ's tribunal. Men of all -conditions in the church,
apostles and private Christians, ministers and people, old and
young, the good and the bad, believers and unbelievers, the just and
the unjust, Jews and Gentiles, bond and free. Men of all condi-
tions in the world must stand before Christ's bar, high and low,
rich and poor, noble and ignoble, princes and peasants. No rank,
degree, or quality, can exempt men from this appearance. All the
distinctions which are among men here cease at the grave's mouth.
All stand there on the same level, and are of the same mould. In
a word, all the apostate angels and the universal progeny of Adam,
shall appear before Christ at that day.
Fourthly, What are the things about which men shall be judged ?
We learn from 2 Cor. v. 10. that ' they are the things done in the
body.' And they are these three, works, words, and thoughts.
1. All men's works will come unto judgment, whether they be
good or bad, Eccl. xii. 14. ' God will bring every work into judg-
ment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be
evil.' All their good works will then be tried, as acts of piety to-
wards God, and acts of righteousness and charity towards men, with
respect to their principle, motives, and end. All men's evil works
will be tried in judgment, both open and secret. Many dig deep
now to hide their counsels from the Lord, and carry their wicked-
ness under a vail of darkness, and care not what they do, provided
they do it undiscerned. There are many abominations committed
in men's lives, which the eyes of the world cannot penetrate into ;
and there are innumerable evils lurking in their hearts, which no
tongue can disclose. But at the last day all those things will be
brought to light, such as midnight revels, secret murders, fraudulent
dealings, and hidden hypocrisies.
2. All men's words shall be tried in judgment. God gave not
the power and organ of speech to man, which is his glory and excel-
lency above the beasts, to serve a sinful passion or corrupt humour,
or to vent the froth and vanity of his own spirit, but to extol and
magnify his Creator, and render him the praise of all his glorious
and admirable works. Christians should employ their tongues for
the honour of God, and the edification of one another. But 0 how
wofully is this noble faculty abused by many, in cursing and
swearing, lying, slandering, and detracting, and by belching forth
OP Christ's exaltation. 523
obscene and scurrilous speeches ! The lips of many drop nothing
but gall and poison, to infect and corrupt others. Now, all this
must come into judgment. Our Saviour tells us, that every idle
word that a man speaks, he shall give account of it in the day of
judgment.
3. All men's thoughts will be tried in judgment. For Christ will
* make manifest the counsels of the heart,' 1 Cor. iv. 5. Many
think now that thoughts go free ; but it is not so in God's account.
He knows all men's thoughts, and records them in the book of his
remembrance, and at the last day they will be manifested and re-
vealed. 0 what an infinite variety of thoughts is in every man's
mind ? This thinking faculty is never idle, but is always putting
forth whole shoals of thoughts. Men have many atheistical and
blasphemous thoughts, many murdering and revengeful thoughts,
covetous and ambitious thoughts, unchaste and impure thoughts,
vain, empty, and unprofitable thoughts, and many bold presump-
tuous thoughts. Now, all these must come into judgment.
Fifthly, What are the i)roperties of this judgment ?
1. It will be an universal judgment. Those that lived under the
law, and those that lived under the gospel, and those that having
no law were a law unto themselves, Rom. ii. 12. those that had
many talents, and they that had but one, must all appear at
Christ's bar. Those that were carried from the cradle to the grave,
and those that stooped for age, the father and the child, the master
and the servant, in a word, the whole offspring of Adam, will be
judged at that day. The bowels of the earth, the bottom of the sea,
and all the elements, shall give up their dead ; and all the apostate
angels shall then appear and receive their final doom.
2. It will be an awful judgment. It is called in scripture ' the
judgment of the great day.' The immediate antecedents of Christ's
appearing will make it very terrible. There will be a dreadful ca-
tastroiihe of the world, which will fill men's hearts with horror and
fear; the bands and ligaments of nature will then be broken
asunder, and her present frame and constitution dissolved ; the ele-
ments shall be reduced into their primitive confusion : the sun shall
be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, the stars shall ftill
from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken. Matt. xxiv.
29. There will be a strange convulsion of nature at the coming of
the Lord. All the stately palaces and magnificent buildings which
men doat so much upon now, will then be reduced to ashes. Again,
the manner of his coming will be awful and solemn : * For the Lord
himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ
2 l2
524 OF ctiimst's exaltation.
shall rise first : then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught
np together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the aiv
and so shall we ever be with the Lord,' 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17- This
will be such a shout as armies were wont to make when the signal
of battle was given ; and after this shout the trump of God shall
sound. By this tremendous blast sinners shall be affrighted out of
their graves ; but to the saints it will carry no more terror than the
roaring of cannons, when armies of friends approach a besieged city
for the relief of those that are within it. And the dead being
raised, they shall be gathered together before the great and awful
throne on which Christ shall sit in his glory, and there they shall
be exactly divided by the angels into two companies, one on the
Judge's right-hand, and the other on his left. Here will be the
greatest assembly that ever met ; where Adam may see his nu-
merous offspring, even as the sand upon the sea-shore, which no man
can number.
3. This judgment will be exact and critical. It is the Searcher
of the heart, to whom all secrets are known, that will pass this final
sentence upon men. His eyes are as a flame of fire, and can pene-
trate into the centre of the soul. All sins, whether secret or open,
shall be accounted for at that day ; and the sins of men's thoughts
and affections, which Satan could not accuse them of, shall then be
brought into judgment. For in that day ' God will judge the
secrets of men by Jesus Christ,' Rom. ii. 16. All men's sins of
omission, and their woful neglect of improving the means, advan-
tages, and opportunities for doing or receiving good, shall be ac-
counted for at that day. All acts of commission in youth and age,
whether gross sensuality, as licentiousness, lusts, excess of wine, re-
vellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries, and all excess of
riot, shall be accounted for to him who is ready to judge the quick
and the dead, 1 Pet. iv. 4, 5. And all acts of unrighteousness to
men, yea, and sins of lesser guilt, for which the most part of men
are not touched either with grief or shame while here, shall then be
produced in judgment. And all the sins of men's words, which are
so easily committed, but not so easily observed, shall be called to a
heavy remembrance. This will be a day that will perfectly fan the
world. Justice will then hold the balance in an even hand ; Christ
will go to work so exactly, that some divines have thought, that the
day of judgment will last as long as the day of the gospel's adminis-
tration hath done or shall do.
4. It will be- a righteous judgment; ' He will judge the world in
righteousness,' Acts xvii. 31. His knowledge of all men's charac-
ters and actions is infallibly true, and therefore his sentence upon
OF Christ's exaltation. 525
them will be incontestibly just, consistent with all the rules of the
highest equity and justice. And the sentence he shall pass upon
both saints and sinners, shall be universally applauded at that day.
5. Lastlif, It is a final judgment, from which there can lie no ap-
peal. Here in the world, if men judge themselves wronged in one
court, they can appeal to another. But it is not so here : for this is
the supreme tribunal, where the great Sovereign of heaven and
earth will give judgment upon angels and men : and the sentence
once passed, will immediately be put in execution, Matth. xxv. 46.
Just after the sentence is pronounced by Christ, it is immediately
added, ' These shall go away into everlasting punishment ; but the
righteous into life eternal.' The sentence shall be irrevocable, and
can never be repealed. It will determine the eternal state of all,
and transmit them either to everlasting happiness or misery.
Sixthly, What are the final causes or ends of this judgment ?
1. The glory of the justice and mercy of God; the former in
punishing the wicked, and the latter in rewarding his friends.
• Many eminent displays of these attributes have been exhibited in
tijo world, but the largest and fullest manifestation of them will be
given at the last day, when the righteous judge ' shall take ven-
geance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ ; who shall be punished with everlasting de-
struction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his
power,' 2 Thess. i. 8, 9. And then he shall say unto the righteous,
' Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
you from the foundation of the world, Matth. xxv. 34.
2. The glory of the Lord Jesus, which will be highly manifested
at that day. His first coming was obscure and without observation.
For he came in the form of a servant, and was reproached and re-
viled by men. But then he will come in power and great glory, as
the Lord and Heir of all things. At his first coming he vailed his
divinity with the infirmities of fiesh. But then the rays of his in-
comprehensible glory shall dazzle the eyes of all that behold him. —
When he came first to the world, he stood before the tribunals of
men, and was condemned to the cursed death of the cross ; but then
he will sit upon a glorious throne, and all the princes and poten-
tates in the world shall stand trembling before him, expecting a
sentence from his mouth, upon which their eternal destiny will de-
pend. He is now seated at the right-hand of the Majesty on high ;
but the curtains of the heavens conceal his glory from us ; and
therefore there is a time fixed, when in the sight of the whole
world he will manifest his glory.
3. The rewarding of men according to their works, and thereby
2l3
526 OP Christ's exaltation.
vindicating the providence of God from the imputation of unrighte-
ousness in his governing the world. — Things seem to be carried
with an unequal balance in the present life. The wicked prosper,
as if they were rewarded for being eyil ; and the godly suffer, as if
they were punished for being good. Yea, the virtuous and the vi-
cious are equally miserable here. In common calamities, there is
no dilference between the righteous and the wicked. There is no
peculiar antidote to secure them from pestilential infection; there is
no strong retreat to defend them from the sword of a conquering
enemy : they have no secret provisions in time of famine ; for the
wheat and the tares are bound in a bundle, and cast into the same
fire : yea, ofttimes the godly are in the worse condition, and merely
on account of their goodness. They are daily oppressed, because
they do not make resistance ; and loaded with sufferings, because
they endure them with patience. They are for God's sake made the
spectacles of extreme misery, while the insolent defyers of his ma-
jesty and laws enjoy all manner of visible felicity. And therefore,
for the vindication of his justice, there must be a day of retribution,
wherein God will reward every man according to his works. Di-
vine justice requires that there should be a different procedure with
those that differ among themselves ; that it should be well with
them that do well, and ill with them that do evil ; and that every
man should reap according to what he hath sown.
Use 1. Labour to get a firm belief and persuasion of this great
and awful truth. Alas ! the most part of men are so busied about
the affairs of this present life, that they do not mind the future.
These awful words, death, judgment, and etermty, make no more im-
pression upon their hearts, than if they were words of no signification.
This is a truth of the greatest importance, and therefore is clearly
and plentifully revealed in the holy scripture. Hearken then to
the voice of this heavenly oracle, and believe and tremble at
the thoughts of this awful day.
2. Think frequently on this terrible judgment, that the belief of
it may be powerful on your hearts and lives. One great cause of
men's woful neglect of duty is the want of serious thoughts concern-
ing Christ's second coming. This renders them lazy and secure, so
that they make no provision for it : but where it is firmly believed,
and duly thought upon, 0 how active and diligent does it make
them ! It had this effect on Paul, 2 Cor. v. 9, 10, 11. Many put
this day far away, and set it at a remote distance from them ; and
this makes them stupid and secure. I have read of a minister, who
in a sermon described the last judgment in all its terrors, with such
ardent expressions, and those animated with such an affecting voice,
OF Christ's exaltation. 527
and such an inflamed countenance and action, that his hearers hroke
forth into passionate cries, as if the Judge himself had been present
to pass the final sentence upon them. In the height of their com-
motion, the preacher bade them stop their tears and passions, for ho
had one thing more to add, the most aftecting and astonishing con-
sideration of all the rest, namely, that, within less than a quarter of
an hour, the memory and regard of that which so transported them
•would vanish, and their aftections return to their carnal objects in
their usual manner. The neglect of serious consideration makes
eren the doctrine of eternal judgment to become without efficacy.
It is needful, therefore, that the belief of this truth be so firmly
seated in the heart, that it may engage the attention of the
thoughts, and may have a royal power over the will and aff"ections,
that so our lives may be ordered according to its rules. Serious
thoughts of this awful day would prove the most efi'ectual restraint
from sin : and particularly it would have a notable efficacy in keep-
ing them back from secret sins, and deprive the devil of one of his
greatest advantages against men, arising from solitude and secrecy.
It would be a powerful remedy against sensual temptations, which
so easily ensnare the hearts of men ; and Avould change the appre-
hensions of the mind, alter the taste of the appetite, and make the
most enticing and irresistible lusts the objects of our greatest detes-
tation.
3. We should fear and tremble at the thoughts of this awful day.
The great ones in the world that are most powerful and unruly,
may hence see that there is a power above them. Many oppose
Christ and his interest now, saying, ' Let us break their bands asun-
der, and cast away their cords from us,' Psal. ii. 3. But they
should remember that ' he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh :
the Lord shall have them in derision,' verse 4. The day is hasten-
ing on, when he shall speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them
in his sore displeasure,' ver. 5. He ' will break them with a rod of
iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel,' ver. 9. The
day is coming, when he shall appear in his power and great glory,
and all the opposers of his cause and interest shall be sisted before
his throne, and hear this dreadful sentence pronounced against
them : ' Those mine enemies that would not that I should reign over
them, bring hither, and slay them before mc,' Luke xix. 27.
4. Then this should make the saints patient under all their trials
and sull'erings. They have no reason to bo ashamed of suflTering '
disgrace for Christ ; for he will abundantly reward them at the
great day. "Whatever injustice they have got from men, they will
have righteous judgment from Clod. This should make them des-
528 OF Christ's exaltatiojt.
pise the reproaches and censures of their most malicious adversaries.
There is a day appointed, wherein oppressed innocence shall obtain
the noblest victory, and disgraced godliness the most public and
highest honour. They may suffer under the tyranny of time, but
they shall reign in the kingdom of eternity. The belief of this is
enough to make them glory in the sharpest tribulations, and joy-
fully triumph over Satan with his perverted malignant world, Heb.
xi. 25, 26. 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18.
5. Lastly, Make the Judge your friend in time, by receiving and
embracing him as your only Saviour, offered to you as such in the
gospel ; and give all diligence that ye may be found in him, clothed
with his righteousness, in that terrible day. There will be no stand-
ing before his awful tribunal, unless you be clothed in the garments
of your elder brother ; and there will be no access into the guest-
chamber, unless ye have on the wedding-garment of imputed righte-
ousness. Therefore kiss the Son, and be reconciled to him, and so
shall ye appear before him as your Judge at the last day. Ac-
quaint now yourselves with him, and be at peace ; for thereby good
shall come unto you, particularly that of a solemn acquittal in the
last judgment. But if ye will not now submit unto the sceptre of
his grace and righteousness, and subject yourselves to him as your
only rightful Lord and Sovereign, willing to have him to reign over
you, and to be ruled by his laws, ye shall not be able to stand in
judgment, but be condemned with his enemies, and have your eter-
nal habitation in the lake that burnetii with fire and brimstone.
Knowing therefore the terrors of the Lord, be persuaded to flee
from the wrath to come, and so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
OP THE APPLICATION OF REDEMPTIOX. 529
OF THE APPLICATION OF REDEMPTION.
Titus hi. 5. — He saved us, — by the renewing of the Holy Ghost.
Having taken a view of our glorious Redeemer, in his person,
incarnation, offices, and his twofold state of humiliation and exalta-
tion, let us now proceed to consider the application of that redemp-
tion which he purchased for us by his obedience and death.
If we cast our eyes backward to the preceding words, we find, (1.)
Our wretched natural state, ver. 3. 'For we ourselves also were
sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and
pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one ano-
ther.' This is a dreadful picture of the depravity and misery of hu-
man nature ; in which not only Pagans, who lived without God in
the world, but Jews the peculiar people of God, of which nation was
Paul, were deeply involved. (2.) Redemption purchased for us by
Jesus Christ, which is the way in which the love of God to man ap-
peared. And this redemption is as extensive as the wretched con-
dition of man. As all mankind, both Jews and Gentiles, are by
nature in a state of wretchedness, so redemption was purchased by
Christ for both, and both are warranted to come to Christ for it ;
though none but the elect among both will obtain it. And in the
text we have the application of that redemption, He saved m, 8fc.
In which we have,
1. Sinful creatures made partakers of Christ's redemption. He
saved us. He speaks of himself and other saints yet in the world,
whom he says God has saved, saved by virtue of Christ's death,
from sin and wrath, put them into a state of, and given them a right
to, eternal complete salvation.
2. How they are made partakers of this redemption. — Where we*
may observe, (1.) The impulsive cause: 'not according to our <jood
works,' these were not the moving causes of our salvation ; but ' his
own mercy :' the same mercy that moved him to send our Redeemer,
moved him to apply the redemption purchased by him. (2.) The
way and manner of accomplishing it : Hy the renewing of the Holy
Ghost. The Holy Spirit makes the application of that redemption,
regenerating us, whereof baptism is the sign, and so renewing and
making us new creatures. Thus, Christ made the salve for our sore,
by his obedience and death, and the Spirit applies it. Hence we
have a proper answer to that.
Quest. ' How arc we made partakers of the redemption purchased
bv Christ ?"
630 'OF THE APPLICATION OF REDEMPTION.
DocT. Ans. ' We are made partakers of the redemption purchased
by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us by his Holy Spirit.'
In handling this sulyect, I shall,
I. Consider the purchase of this redemption.
II. The application of it.
III. Apply the subject in some practical uses.
1. As to the purchase of redemption or salvation spoken of in the
text, five things are to be considered.
1. What the redemption is. 1. It is a deliverance by payment
of a price, 1 Pet. i. 18. ' Ye were not redeemed with corruptible
things,' &c. Sinners were the lawful captives of justice, Isa. xlix.
24. ' Shall the lawful captive be delivered ?' And without shedding
of blood there is no remission. This redemption consists of two
parts. (1.) Deliverance from evil. (2.) Restoration to the good
lost. (1.) Deliverance from sin, the chief evil, Matth. i. 21. ' He
shall save his people from their sins.' This is the house of bondage
which our Redeemer finds all his people in, where they are in chains
held fast to their drudgery. He came to deliver them and set them
free from this slavery, Rom. vi. 6, 7. ' Knowing this that our old
man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed,
that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead, is
freed from sin,' (2.) Deliverance from wrath, 1 Thess. i. ult.^ —
' Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come.' The wages of
sin being death, even eternal destruction of the sinner in hell, all
mankind were liable unto it : but now a ransom is paid, whereby
there is purchased to sinners freedom from wrath, the taking off the
sentence of death lying on them, whereby they were bound to ever-
lasting misery.
2. Redemption includes in it a restoration to the good lost or a
possession of all that hapj)iness and all those blessings which men
forfeited by the j^rimitive transgression, which may all be summed
up in eternal life, begun in every believer in this world, and per-
fected in the world of glory.
3. Who purchased this redemption. Even Jesus Christ, the Son,
of Grod in our nature, 1 Thess. i. ult. forecited. He took on him
our nature, and became our near kinsman, that he might redeem the
slaves and the captives, and redeem to them their mortgaged inhe-
ritance. For he made a full redemption, not only buying sinners
from under the curse, but withal purchasing for them the blessing
they had forfeited. This was a work too great for any lower per-
son : rivers of oil would not have done it ; tlie stock of angels could
not have answered this strait of mankind. But God ' laid help up-
on one that is mighty,' Psal. Ixxxix. 19.
OF THE APPLICATION OP REDEMPTION. 531
4. What was the ransom paid. All that Christ did and suffered
for sinners comes under the name of the rcaisom. For he himself
was the ransom, 1 Tim. ii. 6. ' Wlio gave himself a ransom for all.'
lie did not give gold, money, or lands, for us ; for such mean things
could not have been accepted : but he gave himself for us : ' Who
gave himself for me,' says Paul, Gal. ii. 20. He gave body for
body, soul for soul, bare our sins in his own body, and made his
soul an offering for sin. And as our ransom,
(1.) He obeyed, gave punctual perfect obedience unto all the
commands of the law, and so fulfilled all righteousness. Whereas
we were born sinners, he was born holy ; whereas we lived sinners,
keeping none of the commands, he lived sinless, and kept them all.
So that the law had all its demands of obedience from him.
(2.) He suffered and bare what the law threatened ; and so satis-
fied justice in the room of sinners. Both these we have. Gal. iv. 4,
5. 'AVhen the fulness of time was come God sent forth his Son
made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were
under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons,' Phil. ii.
8. ' Being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and be-
came obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.' Hence,
when the scripture attributes our redemption to his blood, Eph. i. 7.
1 Pet. i. 18, 19. it is not to be understood exclusively of his obedi-
ence and other sufferings, but of his bloody death, which was the
completing of the ransom ; John xix. 30. Jesus cried, ' It is fini-
shed:' and therefore his blood is named, as supposing the other
parts of his obedience and sufferings ; as if one should say, that a
man is delivered from prison, by one's paying the utmost farthing
for him.
5. For whom this redemption was purchased. The ransom paid
was sufficient for the redemption of all mankind ; but the elect only
were actually redeemed ; it was designed for them only, John x. 15.
' I lay down my life for the sheep.' Chap. xvii. 9. ' I pray not for
the world, but for them which thou hast given me.' It is certain
that many perish, and that satisfaction is exacted of themselves for
their own debt; so that if Christ died for them, he so far died in
vain. Gal. ii. 21. as I have formerly shewn at large.
II. As to the application of this redemption, consider,
1. AVhat this application is. It is the actual interesting us in it,
investing us in the possession of it, and making it effectual to us for
the ends for which it was purchased ; and therefore the text calls it
a savlnij us. So the immediate consequent of this application is
twofold.
\)<t. Deliverance from sin and the wratli of God, Rom. vi. 18.
532 OF THE APPLICATION OF REDEMPTION.
' Being made free from siii.' Chap. viii. 1. ' There is therefore iiow
no condemnation to them wliich are in Clirist Jesus.' The chains of
guilt binding over the sinner to God's wrath are broken off : the
cords are loosed, and thrown away from the prisoner ; he is freed
from the slavery and reigning power of lusts, and so brought out of
Satan's prison.
2dly, Restoration to peace with, and the favour of God, and to a
right and title to heaven, and, in a word, being entitled to all the
benefits of Christ's purchase, and actually enjoying them in our own
persons. This is the effectual application of it to us, even as a salve
applied heals the sore.
2. The necessity of this application. It is so necessary that none
can have saving benefit by it until it be applied, John i. 12. In
contemplation of the purchased redemption, the lives of the elect
are spared, and they have means of grace given them, till they be
brought in to Christ. But still in the mean time they are in a state
of wrath, their sins are unpardoned, and they are without actual
right to the inheritance of the saints. As a remedy cannot recover
a man unless it be applied ; so men must die eternally, notwith-
standing the death of Christ, uuless his redemption be applied to
them in particular, for their recovery.
3. "Who applies this redemption. It is the office of the Holy
Spirit to apply it. The Father sent our Redeemer : the Son pur-
chased our redemption ; and the Holy Ghost applies it, as says the
text. Our Lord Jesus is the royal Bridegroom ; who offers himself
and all his benefits unto sinners, upon their marriage with him ; it
is the Holy Spirit that gains the sinner's consent, and so brings the
soul to Christ, whereby it has interest in his purchase. Now,
\st. The outward means the Spirit makes use of for this end is
the ministry of the word, 1 Cor. iii. 5. This is suited to the nature
of rational creatures, wherein their sin, danger, and need of Christ,
his ability and willingness to save are laid before them, and they
are invited and persuaded to accept of the Redeemer, who thereby
comes to their prison doors, offering them liberty ; and to their bed-
sides, offering healing. And faith comes by hearing.
2dly, There is a powerful operation of the Spirit on all the facul-
ties of the soul that accompanies it, 1 Tliess. i. 5, 6. ' Our gospel
came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy
Ghost, and in much assurance ; as ye know what manner of men we
were among you for your sake. And ye became followers of us, and
of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of
the Holy Ghost.' Hereby the prison-doors are made to fly open,
and the fetters to fly oft", like Sampson's green withs from the devil's
07" TTTK \rrTiTr.\TTOX OF KEDRMPTrOX. 533
ca])tive. A new light is let into the mind, the soul is made willing
to be made the Lord's only, wholly, and for ever, Psal. ex. 3. Phil,
ii. 13. The conscience is quickened, the affections are spiritualized,
and the whole soul is affected, so as with heart and good will to em-
brace Christ. And this is the proper work of the Lord's Spirit.
Who else can do it ? who can take of Christ's and give to poor sin-
ners, but the Spirit of Christ ? John xvi. 26.
4. Whom does he apply it to. He applies it to those, and those
only, for whom it was purchased ; that is, to the elect. Acts xiii. 48.
' As many as were ordained unto eternal life, believed.' The Holy
Spirit knows the deep things of God, was privy to the counsel of
peace that passed betwixt the Father and the Son from eternity :
the book of life is open to him, and agreeable thereto he manages
his application. Such as fall away may have slight touches of the
enlightening Spirit, but they never had the spirit of sanctification
resting on them for this application.
The bargain betwixt Christ and an elect soul may get many back-
sets ; sometimes it may seem to be going fair on, and sometimes to
be broken off, without hope of ever coming to again : but he will
never let it blow up for altogether, but will pursue it till it be an
effectual match. We may say of the Spirit in this case as Naomi
did to Ruth, ' The man will not be in rest, until he have finished the
thing,' Huth iii. ult.
5. Lastlt/, Whether this application be completed at once or not.
It is certain, that a whole Christ, with all his benefits, is at onco
made over to the sinner. But as certain it is, that there are many
of these benefits which they are not presently put in possession of.
And therefore the complete application comes not until the last day,
which therefore is called our redemption-day, Eph. iv. 30. Rom.
viii. 23. Hence the Spirit is still at work in believers carrying on
this work, and will never leave it, till he have perfectly united them
with him, and taken away every thing that occasions distance.
APPLICATION.
Use. I. Of information. This lets us see,
1. We are poor miserable creatures without Christ, Rev. iii. 17.
That we need to be saved, speaks us to be lost ; that we need to be
redeemed, speaks us to be in bondage. 0, sinner ! know that while
thou art out of Christ, thou art not a free man. Nay, (1.) Thou art
a prisoner of justice ; for thou hast, broken the law, and thou art
taken and bound as in a prison and canst not escape, Isa. Ixi. 1.
(2.) Thou art Satan's captive, ib. Satan made war against heaven,
534 or TTIE. APPLICATTON OF REDEMPTION.
and engaging with innocent Adam, took liim captive, and all of us
in his loins ; and behold thou art born and livest in captivity. (3.)
Thou art the slave of sin, 2 Pet. ii. 19. Thou canst do nothing but
sin, and go the round from one sin to another ; for that is the only
work which Satan's captives get leave to work, Rom. vi. 20.
2. See the need ye have of the application of Christ's redemption.
Ye need to have an interest in Christ, to have Christ applied to
your souls, as much as ever a poor captive needs the applying of a
ransom, or the sick man of a remedy ; without which the former
must die in the pit, and the latter of his disease, without remedy.
The ransom may be paid, and the remedy provided ; but if they be
not applied, it is all one to the captive and sick, as if there had
been no ransom nor remedy.
3. See the happiness of the saints who are converted by the
Spirit. Christ and all his purchase is theirs, 1 Cor. iii. 22, 23.
We may say of them as of the prodigal, they were lost, but now
found ; dead, but now alive ; prisoners, but now at liberty, &c.
Their guilt is now removed, the power of sin in them is broken, and
the indwelling power thereof shall be taken away. Heaven is
theirs, the mortgaged inheritance is bought back, and they are in-
feft in it.
4. The Holy Spirit is a divine person, not a divine attribute ; for
it is his office to apply Christ's redemption to sinners, which cannot
agree but to a person. He is the third person in the Godhead, to
whom we owe the same faith, worship, and obedience, as to the Fa-
ther and the Son. And therefore it is a more justifiable way of
speaking of the Spirit to speak of the Spirit as a person, he, than as
of a thing, it.
5. There is an absolute need of the Spirit's powerful working on
our souls, in order to salvation. Redemption is purchased by
Christ ; but unless the Spirit apply it to us, we cannot have saving
benefit by it. We cannot move towards the Lord in conversion, but
as we are moved ; for we are dead, and ' It is the Spirit that quick-
eneth,' John vi. 63. We are in darkness, it is the Spirit that en-
lightens. We are wayward, and will not turn, we must be made
willino- in a day of power. Therefore we have much need to seek
the Spirit.
6. How just is the destruction of those that resist the Holy
Ghost, whose office it is to apply Christ ? If men will not have a
remedy applied, they must die of their disease. If a captive will
not have the ransom applied to him, he must die in the pit, since he
refuses to be loosed. They that fight against the Spirit in stifling
their convictions, sinning against light, their damnation is most just.
They run a most dangerous risk.
OF THE APPLICATION OF KEDEMPTION. 535
7. "What a glorious and great work is the work of man's salva-
tion ! At the making of man there was, as it were, a consultation
of the Trinity, but the work was soon done, Gen. i. 26, 27. ' Let us
make man in our image, after our likeness. — So God created man in
his own image.' But at the recovery of man, all hands were set to
work (so to speak). The Father acts his part in chusing a certain
number of the lost race to be partakers of his glory, giving them
unto his Son for a people, and him to them for a Redeemer. The
Son takes on their nature, and redeems them with his blood, and
purchases eternal salvation for them. The Holy Spirit applies that
purchase unto them, renewing their natures, quickening them, and
knittiig them to Christ as the Head of vital influences. 0 ! should
we not admire this great and glorious work ?
8. Let the Lord himself have the glory of the conversion of souls.
If it be by the Spirit that redemption is applied, then it is the Spirit
himself, and not man, that makes himself to differ from others. It
is not that one uses his free-will better than another, but that the
free Spirit looses the bands from off the will in one, and not in ano-
ther.
9. Lastly, "We may hence learn the nature of the sin unto death ;
which, because it does in a special manner run cross to the opera-
tion of the Spirit, tending to the application of Christ's redemption
to a sinner, is called ' the sin against the Holy Ghost;' and may be
thus described :
It is a rejecting, opposing, and blaspheming, of Christ and the
way of salvation through him, after a man hath been clearly con-
vinced of the truth, and tasted the goodness thereof, by the inward
operation of the Holy Ghost, and that deliberately, and wilfully,
and avowedly, out of malice and despite against Christ and his Holy
Spirit. Here observe,
1. The object which this sin is conversant about. It strikes
against the main part of the gospel, namely, Christ and the way of
salvation by him. Hence they are said to ' crucify to themselves
the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame,' Heb. vi. 6.
Therefore, while one does not fly in the face of the way of salvation
through Christ crucified, he cannot bo thus guilty, though his sin be
otherwise ever so heinous.
2. The actings of this forlorn sinner.
(1.) He rejects Christ, and tlie way of salvation through him.
He will not be saved that way ; he will rather run the risk of
damnation than be obliged to Christ, or take him for his Saviour.
Though he should die of his disease, he will not liave Christ's re-
demption applied to him. If he has not professed that way in time
53G ' OF THE APPLICATION OF UEDEMPTION.
past, he downright refuses it for the time to come, Matth. xii. 24.
Said the Pharisees to Christ, ' This follow doth not cast out devils
but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils ;' intimating they would
have no more to do with him then, but stand off from him, as one
would from the prime agent of the prince of i}\e devils. Or if they
have professed that way, they renounce it, they ' fall away,' Heb.
vi. 6, not partially, but totally, quite given up with that way of sal-
vation. Hence no person that docs not quite renounce and refuse
to be saved by Christ, can be guilty of this sin.
(2.) He does not only reject it for himself, but opposes it for
others, using all his endeavours to root out the gos^jel from the
earth by word and deed, pleading against that way, and persecuting
it, as he has opportunity. As did the Pharisees, and those men-
tioned Heb. vi. 6. They ' crucify the Son of God afresh, and put
him to an open shame.' They would do it to him personally, and
actually do it to him in his members. And so those who are not
arrived at this height, cannot be guilty of this sin.
(3.) He not only rejects and opposes it, but blasi)hemes it, re-
proaches and rails against Christ, and the way of salvation through
him. Hence it is called ' blasphemy,' Matt. xii. 31. and ' speaking
against the Holy Ghost,' ver. 32. So that neither are they guilty
of this sin, that do not reproach and rail against the way of reli-
gion.
Now, this is horrible guilt ; yet I must tell you, that a man may
do all this, reject, oppose, and blaspheme Christ, and the way of sal-
vation through him, and yet not be guilty of the sin against the
Holy Ghost, though indeed they are fearful advances in the way to
it. For Paul did all this before his conversion, yet ' obtained mercy,
because he did it ignorantly in unbelief.' See Matt. xii. 31. ' All
manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men.' There-
fore observe,
3. The qualifications of the party to whom this sin is incident.
He is one that has been clearly convinced of the truth of the gosi)el,
and has had a taste of the goodness of it by the inward operation of
of the Spirit. He plainly fights in this against his own conscience,
and the witness of the Holy Spirit manifested unto him. Hence it
is called ' speaking against the Holy Ghost,' Matt. xii. 32. not so
much against his person, as against and over the belly of his en-
lightening operation, not in others, but in himself. This our Lord,
who knows men's hearts, discovered concerning those Pharisees
mentioned Matth. xii. And Heb. vi. 4, 5, 6. is plain to this pur-
pose.
Hence those who remain under common ignorance of the truths
OF THE Al'PLICATIOIf OF REDEMPTION. * 537
of the gospel, and have never had an enlightening work on them,
wherein, by the inward operation of the Spirit on their souls, the
gospel-way of salvation has been particularly manifested to them,
both in the truth and goodness thereof; those, I say are not ca-
pable of this sin.
But for a man thus qualified to reject and blaspheme Christ, is
horrible ; and yet even this will not conclude a person under the
guilt of this sin. For some of the saints were by Paul, when a per-
secutor, ' compelled to blaspheme,' no doubt against the clear light
within their breasts, Acts xxvi. 10, 11. Yet their sins were par-
doned, as all the sins of the saints are. And hence we may con-
clude, that the blasphemies which poor souls are driven into by the
horrible injections of, tossiugs and harrassings they have from the
devil, in his hour and power of darkness, cannot be the sin against
the Holy Ghost, nor unpardonable. Therefore we must take in,
4. Lcistly, The properties of these actings of this forlorn sinner.
All this is done, Christ and the way of salvation are rejected, op-
posed, and blasphemed, by this sinner.
(1.) Deliberately and wilfully, Heb. x. 26. ' If we sin wilfully
after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there re-
maineth no more sacrifice for sins.' It is done out of choice, not
unadvisedly, rashly, and in the hurry of a temptation, from fear or
constraint. Therefore no sin of iudeliberatiou, or weakness, or that
one is hurried into against his will in any measure, or ere he is
aware, can be this unpardonable sin, however heinous otherwise it
may be. For so Peter denied Christ, and these saints aforesaid
blasphemed.
(2.) Avowedly. This forlorn sinner comes to the light with his
sin ; he does not commit it secretly within his own breast, but openly
in the view of the world. It is an overt speech, act, or deed ; as is
manifest from Matth. xii. 24. ' They said, this fellow casteth not out
devils but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils ;' ver. 32. ' Who-
soever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven
him.' Heb. vi. 6. ' They put him to open shame.' Hence it is ma-
nifest, that no thought, how horrible soever, that passeth through
the heart, which one is ashamed of, and sorrow for, and cannot
avow, can be this sin ; for that cannot be a * putting Christ to open
shame.' And,
(3.) Maliciously. He does not this of base fear, love to the
world, or some such like motive ; but out of pure malice against
Christ his Spirit, and the way of salvation ; Heb. vi. 6. They ' cru-
cify him, and put him to an open shame.' And x, 29. ' Who hath
trodden under foot the Son of God, — and hath done despite unto
2 m
538 • OF THE APPLICATION OF REDEMPTION.
the Spirit of grace.' He is one that is downright obstinate against
the Lord, maliciously rejects the way of salvation, refuses con-
temptuously any benefit by Christ's blood, despitcfully sets himself
against the Spirit in his operations for application of Christ's re-
demption to him. In one word, he behaves like a desperate wounded
man, who tears away the plaister from his wound, and throws it at
the face of the surgeon who applied it, chusing rather to bleed to
death, than be saved from death by him that made it, or applied it.
This is the unpardonable sin, and the unpardonable sinner, whose
case is absolutely hopeless.
Hence whatever your sin be, yet if you be grieved for it, and
would be content to have mercy through Christ, or desire the appli-
cation of his redemption, you are not guilty of this sin.
And thus you may see how this sin becomes unpardonable, and
how it is impossible to renew such again unto repentance ; namely,
that as the case of the sick man is desperate, who rejects the re-
medy, and sets himself maliciously against the physician ; so that
soul's case must be utterly hopeless, which maliciously, wilfully and
avowedly, rejects, opposes, and blasphemes Christ the only sacrifice,
and the Holy Ghost the only Sanctifier. For if one will by no
means have Christ, he must needs perish, for there is no other sa-
crifice if they despitefully refuse his Spirit, there is no other Sancti-
fier. How then can they be pardoned, or brought to repentance ?
If one sin against the Father, as a Lawgiver, the satisfaction of the
Son can take away that sin ; if one sin against the Son, by unbelief
or otherwise, the Holy Spirit can by his grace cure him of that ; but
if one will needs do despite to the Spirit of grace, and maliciously
set himself against his application of Christ's redemption, there is
no more hope ; since there is not another person in the Godhead to
cure this.
Use II. Of trial. Ye may try by this, whether ye be partakers
of Christ's redemption or not, namely, if the Spirit has eflectually
applied it unto you. For there is no other way of partaking of it ;
and this never misgives. I shall give you the following marks of
the Spirit's application.
Mark 1. Where the Spirit applies Christ's redemption, the wound
is fully opened, and then Christ's redemption is fully applied, Luke
vi. 48. 1 Cor. i. 30. Wh^re the work is not carried through by the
Spirit, either the soul's wound is so laid open that the sinner de-
spairs, and there is no application of-Chi-ist, as in the case of Judas ;
or else it is not enough opened and laid out, sins of the heart, and
particularly the sin of one's nature, are not so discovered, as to
convince the soul of its utter impotency to good. Hence Christ is
OF THE APPLICATION OF REDEMPTION". 539
not applied for sauctification, as well as for justification, and so not
truly applied at all. But where the wound is laid open sufliciently,
both in point of guilt, which the soul sees it can by no means re-
move, and in point of utter natural corruption, which the soul sees
it cannot help ; and withal the soul is brought to Christ both for
righteousness and sauctification, to close with him, and depend on
him for both ; there the Spirit has applied Christ's redemption
(1 Cor. i. 30.), laying the plaister to in the full breadth of the sore.
Mark 2. Where there is a begun delivery from the power of sin,
the reign of it is broken, it has not the soul at its beck as before,
Rom. vi. 14. It is true sin may prevail, because the power of it is
not entirely broken, the application not being yet perfect. But the
heart is habitually loosed from sin, longing to be rid of it, and en-
deavouring to be freed of the bonds, as the captive casting off his
chains when he is coming forth of the prison, and Lazarus raised
leaving his dead-clothes, Rom. vii. 24.
Use III. Of exhortation, in two branches.
First, Be deeply concerned for the application of Christ's re-
demption unto yourselves. Seek it, and be not satisfied without it.
Make it your greatest care to be partakers of the redemption pur-
chased by Christ. To press this, I offer the following motives.
Mot. 1. Consider what a great redemption it is, Heb. ii. 3, It is
a redemption from the greatest evils, sin, and the wrath of Grod ; —
of the greatest benefits, peace with God, pardon, and eternal life ; —
performed by the greatest of persons, the Son of God ; and could be
performed by no lesser one, being above the reach of angels and
men ; — purchased by the paying of the greatest ransom, the blood
of God.
Mot. 2. Some are made partakers of it. So says the text. Tlie
door of the treasure-house is opened to some, and they are brought
in, and do partake of it. There have been before you, who have
been dying of their wounds, as ye are now, and by the application
of it they have been recovered, 1 Cor. vi. 11. Up then, and put in
for a share in this glorious redemption.
3Iot. 3. Ye need it as well as others, Eph. ii. 3. Are not ye as
well as others naturally justice's prisoners, Satan's captives, and
sin's slaves ? Ye cannot deliver yourselves more than others could
ye must perish in the pit, if ye be not partakers of this redemption.
And ye are not able to bear the weight of wrath more tlian others.
0 let not your need prompt you on to it !
Mot. 4. It is in your offer this day. Our Lord is crying to you
by the gospel, ' Turn ye to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope ;
even to-day do I declare that I will render double unto thee,' 2ech.
2 ji 2
540 OP THE Al'PLICATION OF REDEMPTION.
ix. 12. The physician is come to your bed-sides, offering you liis
never-failing medicines. All the benefits of Christ's purchase are
offered to you. They cost him dear, but he offers them freely,
though the price of blood to him : Isa. Iv. 1. 'Ho, every one that
thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money ; come
ye, buy and eat, yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and
without price.'
Mot. 5. You will have no saving benefit by it, if it be not applied
to you, John viii. 24. What will it avail you, that Christ died for
the sins of his people, if ye have no interest in his death ? ye must
die for your own sins, and bear your own burden for evermore.^
There is a physician indeed ; but what will ye be the better, if ye
do not employ him ? What though ye get his directions in the gos-
pel ? If ye do not make use of the remedy, ye will die of your
disease.
Mot. 6. Nay, it will be worse for you than if there had been no
redemption purchased, Heb. ii. 3. ' How shall we escape if we ne-
glect so great salvation ?' Matth. xi. 24. ' It shall be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom (says Christ to Capernaum) in the day of
judgment, than for thee.' It will aggravate your condemnation,
that there was a ransom paid, and it was in' your power, but ye
slighted it. 0 how fearful is the slight given to the price of blood,
the blood of the Son of God ! The Mediator's vengeance will pur-
sue such. And, as a thousand worms, it will at last gnaw the con-
sciences of those that slighted it.
Mot. 7. Lastly, It will not always be in your offer, Luke xiv. 24
25. Behold, now is the day of salvation. The time comes when
the market of free grace will be over, and if one would ever so fain
have it, they shall not get it. Therefore delay not. Te know not
but it may be out of your reach to-morrow ; for ye have no reason
to boast of to-morrow, as ye know not what a day may bring forth.
2dly, As ever ye would have the redemption purchased by Christ
api)lied to you, and would not mar that application,
1. Beware of that treatment of the Spirit, which has a tendency
thereto, yea, and leads the way to the great transgression. And
beware of,
\st. Resisting the Spirit, Acts vii. 51. but rather fall in with him
in his operations. To stave off convictions, and guard against
awakenings out of a state of sin, to sin against the light, and in-
ward checks, and to go on obstinately in sin, in opposition to calls
to repentance, is to resist the Spirit. And that is most dangerous,
as dangerous as for the sick man to resist the physician that would
apply healing plaisters to his sores, and so fight against his own
welfare.
OF THE APPLICATION OP REDEMPTIOlir. 541
2dly, Quenching the Spirit, 1 Thess. v. 19. Sometimes this holy
fire begins to burn, and ye may find the heat of it: 0 then take heed
as one who is upon the point of cure, that ye do not mar it ! Do
not cast water on this fire to drown it out, by sinning against light,
putting out your convictions out of your hearts and heads, by sin-
ning with a strong hand, or filling up your thoughts with worldly
business, drowning them by sinful pleasures, &c. Withdraw not
fuel from this fire, by neglecting the motions and operations of the
Spirit. Do not smother it, by not giving them vent in prayer, and
supplication, and confession before God, or in consulting with his
servants in cases wherein ye need particular direction. 0, why will
ye ruin yourselves, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life ?
Mly, Grieving the Spirit, Eph. iv. 30, Even believers them-
selves have need of the Spirit for carrying on this work of applica-
tion of Christ's redemption. And they are in hazard of retarding
and interrupting it, by their grieving the Spirit by gross sins, which
in a special manner defile the conscience, or by sins, though smaller
in their nature, yet attended with great aggravations, or by not
valuing and esteeming the Spirit's graces, comforts, influences, and
ordinances. These things provoke the Spirit to withdraw ; and so
the application of the redemption is not advanced,
'ithly, Vexing the Spirit, Isa. Ixiii. 10. It is true, the Spirit of
the Lord is not subject to passions ; for these are inconsistent with
the infinite happiness of God ; and so he cannot properly be grieved
or vexed, nor disturbed. But men are said to vex the Spirit, when
they treat him so as would vex one capable of vexation. This is
done by often falling into the same sins. Numb. xiv. 22. especially
falling into them again after a person has been convinced of the evil
of them, confessed, mourned for them, and resolved against them ;
and much more when, besides all this, they have smarted for them.
This is the great trial of divine patience, a tempting of God,
and puts men in great hazard of being given up of God, Numb,
xiv. 27.
Lastly, Blaspheming the Spirit in his operations. This is done
by mocking at religion, or the work of tlie Spirit of the Lord, in
others : A dangerous business, as these young blasphemers felt, 2
Kings ii. 23, 2-1. ' And Elisha went up from thence unto Betliel :
and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children
out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him. Go up, thou
bald-head. Go up, thou bald-head. And he turned back, and looked
on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord : and there came
forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children
of them.' Or by fathering the operations of the Spirit in ourselves
2 m3
542 ox THE APPLICATION OF REDEMPTION.
or others, on some other cause, as when religion is counted folly,
soul-exercise melancholy or distraction, and communion with God
delusion. Thus the Spirit, as the Spirit of regeneration and of
prayer, is often blasphemed.
2. As ever ye would have the redemption purchased by Christ
applied to you, labour to get the Spirit; make it your business to
get him to dwell in you, and work in you. Lay out yourselves to
be his habitation. Consider,
Mot. 1. Ye are by nature without the Spirit, Jude, 19. therefore
ye have need to seek him. The highest principle of acting in
you is your own spirit, which is so corrupted that it can do nothing
truly good, John xv. 5. And being without the Spirit, ye are with-
out God in the world, and therefore without hope, while ye are so.
Mot. 2. Ye can have no saving benefit by Christ but by the
Spirit. Ye can have no interest in Christ without him, Rom. viii.
9. and no access to God through Christ, but by him, Eph. ii. 18.
While ye have not the Spirit, the redemption is indeed purchased,
but, alas ! it is not applied to you. Christ has died, but you have
no interest in him, no saving benefit by him. There is a full trea-
sure of grace in Christ, but, alas ! ye want the key to open it. The
bridegroom stands ready to receive you, but there is none to bring
the bride to him, and she cannot go her alone.
Mot. 3. Without the Spirit ye are spiritually dead in sin, John
vi. 63. When the soul is away, the body is dead ; and when the
Spirit is away, the soul is dead. The man cannot move in God's
way, cannot perform one duty acceptably ; for nothing is so but
what is done in the Spirit, John iv. 24. Hence all oi'dinances an!
providences are lost on such an one ; for he is like a dead tree, to
which spring and winter are alike. Hence,
Mot. 4. Without the Spirit ye are undone for ever ; without the
Spirit, without Christ, Rom. viii. 9. without Christ, without God ;
and without God, without hoi)e ; therefore ' aliens from the common-
wealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise,' Eph.
ii. 12. The dead corpse may be kept a while ; but when there are
no hopes of the returning of the soul, it is buried in a grave : so
without the Spirit ye may be kept a while, through God's patience ;
but the end will be, to be cast into the pit, and buried out of God's
sight.
Mot. last. If ye get the Spirit, ye are made up for ever. For he
is the leading benefit of Christ's purchase, which all the rest infal-
libly follow, Zech. xii. 10. When the Spirit comes, life comes, that
shall never fail, John iv. 14. He will unite you to Christ, and then
all is yours. He will enlighten, quicken, renew and sanctify you,
ON THE ArrLICATION OF REDEMPTION. 543
subdue your corruptions, give grace, actuate and increase it, change
you from glory to glory, and raise up your bodies at the last day to
glory, Rom. viii. 11.
I shall conclude all "with a few directions.
1. Pray earnestly for the Spirit, Luke xi. 13. God has made a
promise of the Spirit, and gives that as a ground of your prayer for
him, Ezek. xxsvi. 27, 37. ' A new Spirit will I put within you. — I
will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for
them.' And although God regard not prayer as performed by one
without the Spirit, yet he regards it as a means and ordinance of
his own appointment, whereby the Spirit is conveyed into the hearts
of his elect.
2. Wait and look for the Spirit in all ordinances of his appoint-
ment, Isa. xxxii. ult. They that would have the wind blow upon
them, go out into the open air ; though they cannot raise it, they
wait where it blows, John iii. 8. Especially the preaching of the
gospel is to be attended diligently for this end, 2 Cor. iii. 8. The
man that had lain many years at the pool, at length saw the time
that the angel moved the waters.
3. Lcistly, Give up yourselves to the Spirit, Jer. xxxi. 18. Lay
yourselves down at his feet, to be enlightened, quickened, and sanc-
tified by him. Open the door of your hearts to receive him. And
when the least good motion is found kindled in your hearts, cherish
it as a tender bud of heaven ; nourish the spark, and it will in-
crease into a flame.
644 OP UNION WITH CHRIST.
OF UNION WITH CHRIST.
1 Corinthians xii. 13. — For hy one Spirit are we all baptized into one
body, whether we be Jeivs or Gentiles, ivhether toe be bond or free,
and have been all made to dnnk into one Spirit.
The apostle in the preceding verse having asserted, that Christ
mystical, i. e. Christ and believers, are one, making bnt one mystical
body, in the words of the text does at once explain and confirm the
same from the two sacraments of the New Testament, baptism, and
the Lord's supper.
1. From the sacrament of baptism, where he shews ns the blessed
union made. And here consider,
\st. The parties united : on the one hand, we all ; viz. who believe
in Christ, as distinguished from unbelievers. On the other hand,
Jesus Christ, whom he had just before mentioned, and who is here
understood as implied in the one body, whereof he is the head, or
principal part.
2dly, The uniting or joining of the parties, which is expressed by
being baptized into one body, the sacramental sign being put for the
thing signified : as if he had said, we are united into one body with
Christ, which is signified and sealed by our baptism.
Zdly, The efficient cause of the union, or the party uniting us to
Christ, one Spirit, the one Spirit of Christ. It is by him we are bap-
tized, and are joined to Christ. He casts the indissoluble knot ; as
Christ brings us to the Father, the Holy Spirit brings us to Christ,
by faith which he works in us, and makes the marriage-tie between
the King of saints and the daughter of Zion. This Spirit must
needs be the infinite Spirit of God, since it is but one Spirit that
knits all, not only as the author, but the bond of the union.
4:thly, The result of this union, one body. Hence it comes to pass,
that Christ and all believers are one mystical body ; they are all
joined to Christ and among themselves, as the head and members.
5thly, The character of the parties whom the Spirit unites to
Christ. He confines not himself to any one party of sinners in the
world, but takes them indifferently out of all sorts, whether they be
Jews or Grentiles, whether they be bond or free men. He goes to
unbelieving Jews that had rejected Christ for some time, and to un-
believing Gentiles that had not heard of him. And he unites them
to Christ by working faith in them ; for he deals with them that
have reason, not as with stocks, knitting them without any action of
their own, but as rational creatures, apprehen|ling them, and work-
ing faith in them, whereby they apprehend Christ.
OF UKION WITH CHRIST. 545
2. From the sacrament of the Lord's supper, where he shews ns
the blessed fruit of this union, and have been all made to drink into
one Spirit. Here consider,
1st. The common benefit, the purchase of Christ's redemption ;
one Spiiit, the leading comprehensive purchase of Christ's death.
This is that Spirit poured out on Christ without measure, to be com-
municated for life, and supplies of life, to all that come to him.
2dli/, The participation of that benefit, which is expressed by
being made to drink into one Spint, the sacramental sign for the
thing signified : As if he had said. We all partake of Christ's Spirit
more and more to our spiritual nourishment and growth in grace,
which is as necessary to us as drink to strengthen our bodies, which
is signified and sealed by the sacrament of the Lord's supper.
Sdli/, The parties made partakers thereof, tue all, who are united
to Christ. As life goes before eating or drinking, so the union with
Christ goes before communion in and partaking of the benefits of his
redemption ; and the former is the cause of the latter.
Hence we may see, That ' the Spirit applieth to us the redemption
purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us
to Christ in our effectual calling.'
The great subject to be handled here, is the union betwixt Christ
and believers. And here let us consider,
I. How Christ's redemption is applied to a sinner.
IT. Shew that there is a real union betwixt Christ and believers.
III. What is that union.
IV. What are the bonds of it.
V. Who is the author and efficient cause of it.
VI. The properties of it.
VII. Apply.
1. Let us consider how Christ's redemption is applied to a sinner.
It is done by way of uniting the sinner to Christ, as a plaister is
applied to a sore, by laying the one upon the other. A sinner is in-
terested in, and put in possession of Christ's redemption through
union with liim, 1 Cor. i. 30. ' Of him are ye in Christ Jesus.' Men
must not think to stand afar from Christ, and partake of the bene-
fits of his death, upon their praying to him for it, as the beggar on
his crying gets of the rich man's money thrown to him ; which I ob-
serve is the soul ruining notion many have of this matter. But he
must unite with Christ, and so partake of the redemption purchased
by Christ, as the poor widow drowned in debt, by marrying the rich
man, is interested in his substance. It is with Christ himself that
all saving benefits are given, Rom. viii. 32 ; and without him none
such are received. Believe it, Sirs, that as Adam's sin could never
546 OP UNION WITH CHRIST.
have hurt you, unless ye had been in him, so Christ's redemption
shall never savingly profit you, unless ye be in him, Eph. i. 7- ' In
whom we have redemption through his blood.' I shall next shew,
II. That there is a real union betwixt Christ and believers.
Some, to advance their legal scheme of doctrine, acknowledge no
other union but a relative one betwixt Christ and believers, such as
may be betwixt persons and things wholly separated. But that
there is a real, true, and proper union betwixt Christ and believers,
is evident if ye consider,
1. The several equivalent terms by which this union is expressed
in scripture. Christ is said to be in believers, Col. i. 27- Rom. viii.
10. and they in him, 1 Cor. i. 30. He is said to dwell in them, and
they in him, John vi. 56. They are said to abide in one another,
John XV. 4. Believers have i)ut on Christ, Gal. iii. 27. They are
so joined, or agglutinated, as to be one Spirit, 1 Cor. vi. 17- To ex-
pound these of a mei'e relative union, such as is betwixt a king and
his subjects, a master and his servants, is but to wrest scripture, and
these phrases applied to such relatives would be extremely harsh,
though they never so much agreed in judgment and alFection.
2. The several real and proper unions which it is resembled to.
It is resembled unto that betwixt the vine and the branches, John
XV. 5. the head and the body, Eph. i. 22, 23. meat eaten and the
eater, John vi. 56. yea, to that betwixt the Father and Christ, John
xvii. 21. These are real proper unions, and so is this.
3. Lastly, If this union be not a true and real one, but a mere re-
lative one, the sacrament of the supper is but a bare sign, and not
a seal, exhibiting and applying Christ to believers. For without
this real union, the feeding on Christ's body and blood truly and
really in the sacrament cannot be ; which yet is the doctrine of the
scriptures, and of our Larger Catechisms, proved from the words of
institution, ' Take, eat, this is my body.' For if there be a true
and real feeding, there must be a true and real union, as there is
betwixt the food and our bodies into which it is incorporated.
III. I proceed to shew what is that union that takes place be-
twixt Christ and believers. There are three mysterious unions in
our religion. (1.) The substantial union of the three person's in one
Godhead. (2.) The personal union of the divine and human natures
in Jesus Christ. (3.) The mystical union betwixt Christ and be-
lievers, which is that wherein Christ and believers, are so joined,
that they are one Spirit, and one mystical body, 1 Cor. vi. 17- and
xii. 13.
In this union the whole man is united to a whole Christ. The
believing soul is united to him, Eph. iii. 17. His body also is
OF UNION WITH CHRIST. 547
united to him, 1 Cor. vi. 19. 1 Tliess. iv. 14. They are united to
him in his divine nature, Col. i. 27. and in his human nature, Eph.
V. 30. and so through the Mediator unto God, 2. Cor. vi. 16.
IV. I go on to shew what are the bonds of this union, whereby
Christ and believers become one. All corporal union is made by
contact ; but Christ is in heaven, and we on earth, and so we can
have no such union with him ; and if we had, what would it profit ?
John vi. 63. But this union is spiritual, 1 Cor. vi. 17. and so are
the bonds of it. And they are two.
1. The Spirit on Christ's part, whereby he apprehendeth, taketh
and keepeth hold of us, 1 John iii. ult. The same infinite Spirit
that dwells in Christ, he communicates to his elect in their elfectual
calling, Ezek. xxxvi. 27. So that one Spirit living and acting in
both, in Christ as the head, and in believers as the members, they
truly become one by that means. And the distance betwixt Christ
and believers, as great as is betwixt heaven and earth, cannot hin-
der the joining of our souls and bodies to his, since the Spirit is an
infinite Spirit, everywhere present. And seeing the same Spirit is
in both, they are thereby made really one, notwithstanding the
distance ; even as if there were a man standing on the earth
whose head should reach the stars ; yet since one soul animates
his head and feet, notwithstanding the distance betwixt them, (as
well as those of the lowest xlwarf), they do still make but one body.
And as in the case of a tree-leg fixed to the body, and touching
upon it, it is not for all that a part of the body, because it is not
animated by the soul ; so, on the other hand, where one spirit is in
two, there is a real union, although these tAvo do not touch one an-
other, as in the case of Ezekiel's wheels, Ezek. i. 21. All which
shews that there is nothing contrary to reason in this union.
2. Faith on the believer's part, Eph. iii. 17- ' That Christ may
dwell in your hearts by faith.' Thereby the believer apprehends,
takes, and keeps hold of Christ. It is by that we receive Christ,
John i. 12. come unto him, John vi. 35. and feed on him, ver. 56.
This faith is that- true one, whereby a sinner heartily receives and
rests on Christ for all his salvation. And no distance can hinder it
to ascend unto the Mediator.
Now, since Christ cannot be seen with our eyes, nor touched with
our hands, while he is in heaven and we are on earth, and that he
is not known to us but by his word of the gospel, what other way
can we unite with him, but believing on this unseen Christ ? So
that faith is the only mean on our part. And its fitness for this
Avork appears, if ye consider,
(1.) That faith is a self-emptying and creature-emptying grace.
548 OF UNION WITH CHRIST.
throwing off and i)utting away all those things that might keep the
soul at a distance from Christ, Phil. iii. 8. And,
(2.) It is as much fitted to receive an unseen Christ and salvation,
which appears to us only in the word, as the hand to receive what
can he received into it. For in the word Christ offers himself and
all his salvation to us, which we cannot lay hold of by any bodily
action whatsoever ; but faith crediting the testimony, consenting to,
and resting on the offered Christ, with his salvation, docs actually
get the same, as sure as there is truth in the word of the gospel.
V. The next head is to shew who is the author and efficient cause
of this union. The party that makes this blessed union is the Holy
Spirit of Christ, and none other, as the text tells us. As our Lord
Jesus Christ took his own human nature into personal union with
him, in the womb of the virgin Mary, by the agency of the Spirit,
the Holy Ghost coming upon her, and the power of the Highest
overshadowing her, Luke i. 35. so he takes sinners into mystical
union with him, by the agency of this same Spii'it. "We may take
it up thus :
1. The Spirit of Christ comes in the word, and enters into the
heart of the elect sinner dead in sin. The word is the great vehicle
of divine appointment, wherein the Spirit is given, Gral. iii. 2. And
in that he comes and makes room for himself, and takes it up,
1 Thess. i. 5. John vi. 63. And the ^.pirit is a Spirit of life, a
Spirit of faith, and one with Christ, as he is one of the three persons
in the one Godhead. So that when he is come into the soul, it is
quickened, changed, regenerated, and really united to Christ pas-
sively, in so far as the Spirit is Christ's Spirit.
2. That quickening Spirit now entered into the elect soul woi'ks
faith in it ; and thus only true faith is wrought, not from our natu-
ral powers, Eph. ii. 8. Col. ii. 12. Hereby the soul lays hold on
Christ, and actually unites with him. Being quickened and actu-
ated by the Spirit, it acts in believing.
The whole may be illustrated by the case of Lazarus rising from
the dead. With the voice of Christ, ' Lazarus come forth,' his soul
re-entered into his body, so he was alive again ; and being alive and
quickened, he moved and came forth unto Christ. So the dead soul,
being quickened by the Spirit coming into it, moves and comes into
Christ. And thus ye may see.
That there is a twofold receiving of Christ. (1.) A passive re-
ceiving of him, wherein Christ comes in by his Spirit into the dead
soul, quickening it, and joins himself unto that soul. Here the soul
does nothing, but is inhabited by Christ, through the Spirit, which
disposeth the sinner to believe. And this is the case of gracious
OF UNION WITH CHRIST. 549
infants, who are truly united to Christ, though because of their in-
fancy they cannot act faith. (2.) An active receiving of him, when
the soul having faith wrought in it by the Spirit actually believes,
and receives Christ, putting forth the hand of the soul to embrace
him, and so actively joins itself unto the Lord.
VI. I proceed to show the properties of this union. I have anti-
cipated some of these, under other heads already, and shown you
that it is,
1. A true, real, and proper union, not a mere relative one.
2. A spiritual union, 1 Cor. vi. 17- ' He that is joined unto the
Lord is one Spirit.' Though it is an union of bodies as well as of
spirits, yet the union is not corporal, for the bodies do not touch
one another ; but spiritual, being joined by spiritual bands. I add,
that it is,
3. A mysterious union. The apostle calls it a * great mystery,'
Eph. V. 32 ; 'a glorious mystery,' Col. i. 27. — And therefore, by the
by, it is not a mere relative union, but a true and real one ; for a
relative union betwixt Christ and believers, is no mystery, but a
plain truth easily acknowledged by all, and perceived. But there
is need of a true, lively, humble faith to believe this, which is so far
above the reach of our natural capacities, and which natural reason
is so ready to object against ; but faith will believe it over all these
impediments.
4. A most close and intimate union. They are joined as those
things that are glued together, 1 Cor. vi. 17. The believer has
Christ in him, and he is in Christ ; and they are united as the meat
with the body, which is incorporated into it, John vi. 56. See Eph.
V. 30.
5. An indissoluble union. Once in Christ, ever in him, John x.
28, 29. What man will lose a member of his body, if he can help
it ? Who then can imagine that Christ will lose a member of his ?
The apoigtle bids a defiance to all things for separating the saints
from the love of Christ, and consequently from union with him, that
is the ground of the love of complacency, Rom. viii. 35, &c. This
union abides uninterrupted by death : for sleeping saints sleep in
Christ, while in the grave, 1 Thess. iv. 14.
6. Lastly, It is the leading, comprehensive, fundamental privilege
of believers, 1 Cor. iii. 23. ' Ye are Christ's.' All their other pri-
vileges are derived from and grafted upon this, their justification,
adoption, sanctification, and glorification. All these grow on this
root ; and where that is wanting, none of these can be. All accept-
able obedience comes from the soul's union with Christ, John xv. 4.
Hence faith is the principal grace, as uniting us to Christ.
550 OF UNION- WITH CHRIST.
I proceed now to tlie application of this subject. I shall press
out the juice of this pomegranate unto you in uses of information,
trial, and exhortation.
Use I. Of information. It informs us,
1. Concerning the saints in general, that they are highly dignified
beyond all the rest of the world. They are all members of Christ,
of the blood royal of heaven, even those of them that some would
disdain to rub shoulders with, Eph. v. 30. And thus we have these
lessons.
(1.) Wo to those that maltreat, oppress, or persecute any of the
saints ; for what they do against them, they do against Christ, as
doing it to the members of Christ's body. Acts ix. 4. And he will
resent it, and plead the cause as his own cause, accurately and ex-
actly, so as to make men accountable for omissions of duty to them,
far more for commissions of evil against them, Matth. xxv. 42 — 45.
So that the Saints have good reason to lay aside all thoughts of re-
venge ; for their Redeemer is mighty.
(2.) They are the best bestowed good turns that are done to the
godly for Christ's sake. For as they are done to them, they are
done to Christ, since they are one with him. And our Lord will
take it so, and graciously reward it, Mat. xv. 35 — 40. Therefore
the apostle gives that exhortation. Gal. vi. 10. ' As we have there-
fore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them
who are of the household of faith.' Have ye any love to Christ ?
love is communicative ; ye cannot reach the Head, but the members
ye have always with you. Say not then ye want occasion to testify
your love to him. It is the best seed ye can sow and will bring
the most plentiful harvest.
(3.) Believers are members one of another, Eph. iv. 25. — There is
a true and real sibness betwixt all the godly, as there is betwixt
the legs and arms of one body, or one leg and another. For since
they are all united to Christ, it necessarily follows that th^ are all
united among themselves, 1 Cor. xii. 12. And therefore they are
called ' one bread,' having an union and communion among them-
selves, sealed by the sacrament. 0 ! if this great truth were be-
lieved, what love, what sympathy, what care for one another's tem-
poral and spiritual welfare would there be among the godly !
There would not be such strangeness, alienation of affections, nor
such a Cain like unconcernedness about one another among them.
(4.) It is a thankless office to rend and divide the church of
Christ, to tear Christ's seamless coat. Many make no bones of se-
parating from, but place religion in, casting off, communion with
those, who, their consciences must acknowledge, do yet remain
OF UNntOIf WITH CHRIST. 551
united to Christ. They say, they can have no communion with
them without sin. I grant, that if one leg go into a mire and be de-
filed, the other ought not to follow, nor one saint communicate with
another in sin ; ay, but no man in his wits would cut off either of
the legs in that case. But the body of Christ is not so tenderly
handled, though we owe more tenderness to it than to our natural
bodies. Nay, but let men abhor communion with such as much as
they will, they shall either have the most close and intimate com-
munion with them, or they shall have none with Christ, forasmuch
as there are not two Christ's to head the separate bodies ; and if
they be both united to one Christ, they liave the most intimate
union and communion one with another.
2. It informs us concerning some great and weighty principles of
our holy religion, clearly deducible from this grand point.
(1.) The saints shall persevere in grace, and can never totally nor
finally fall away from it. For there is an indissoluble union be-
twixt Christ and them. This secures the believer's life, that it can
never be lost. Col. iii. 3. The Spirit, the bond of this union, never
leaves his habitation, John xiv. 16. and iv. 14. This keeps a seed
always in him for God, 1 John iii. 9. And Christ will lose none of
his members, John xvii. 12. It is true, if the firmness of this union
depended entirely on the hold the sinner has of Christ by faith, it
might he broke ; but it depends on the hold that Christ has of the
sinner by his Spirit, as the nurse has of the babe in her arms.
(2.) Faith in Christ is the great comprehensive gospel-duty.
Many have mean thoughts of faith, in comparison of other duties.
But the scripture gives it the preference, John vi. 29. 1 John iii. 23.
When we bid you believe, we bid you get all privileges, and do all
duties ; for believing is the way to both, in so far as it unites the
soul to Christ, which is the fundamental privilege of the saints. If
ye believe, ye do all in effect, as he who takes hold of the first link
of a chain, has hold of all the links. If ye believe not, ye do no-
thing ; for without faith, ye are without Christ, and without Christ
ye can do nothing, John xv. 5. compare Heb. xi. 6.
(3.) There is a solid rational ground for the doctrine of our justi-
fication by the imputed righteousness of Christ. Let profane men
deride it as a putative or imaginary righteousness and justification,
to make way for their own works ; and let the corrupters of the
Protestant doctrine set up faith, repentance, and new obedience, as
our evangelical righteousness, upon which we are justified, as the
fulfilling of Uie gospel-law ; we need no other righteousness for jus-
tification but Christ's. For a believer is by faith united to Christ.
Having this union with him, we have a communion with him in his
552 OP UNION WITH CURIST.
righteousness, which is ours, since we are one with him, and being
ours, must be imputed to us, or reckoned ours on the most solid
ground. Christ is the believer's Surety by his own voluntary act,
the debtor's consent by faith, the Judge's approbation in the word.
What then is more rational than that this righteousness be imputed
to the believer, and he thereupon justified ?
(4.) The way to obtain true repentance and sanctification, is to
believe. For these are the benefits of Christ's redemption. Acts v.
31. Matth. i. 21. and these are applied by the Spirit working faith
in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling.
How can one think to repent truly, or to be holy, when he is not
united to Christ, John xv. 5. or to be united without faith ? As
soon shall the falling dew pierce through the rock, as one shall be
able to do any of these out of Christ, whom the Father has con-
stituted the head of influences, and on whom all our fruitfulness
depends.
(5.) Lastly, The bodies of believers shall have a glorious resur-
rection, Rom. viii. 11. There is an union betwixt Christ and the
bodies of believers, which death does not break ofi", 1 Thess. iv. 14.
and therefore they shall not always lie in the dust ; uor will Christ
lose any of his members. The Lord says to a dying saint as to
Jacob, Gen. xlvi. 3, 4. ' I am God, the God of thy father : fear not
to go down into Egypt [the grave] — I will go down with thee into
Egypt [the grave] ; and I will also surely bring thee up again.'
3. This doctrine informs us concerning the happiness of the saints.
To be united with Christ is the foundation of all happiness, and the
richest privileges.
(1.) Christ is theirs. Cant. ii. 16. ' My Beloved is mine,' says the
spouse. They have an interest in his person. He is their Lord,
their Elder Brother, their Husband, yea, their Head. Whatsoever
he is, or is in him, they may reckon upon it as theirs, for to make
them happy. The fulness of the Godhead dwells in him, and so
God is their God and their Father, John xx. 17. His mercy is
theirs to pity them, his power to protect them, his all-seeing eye to
direct them, &c. Thus they have a fountain to go to that never
runs dry, a treasure that is never exhausted, a table that will never
be drawn, &c.
(2.) What Christ has is theirs, and he is the heir of all things, so
all is theirs, 1 Cor. iii. 22, 23. He has all that has him to whom all
things belong. Union infers a communion betwixt Christ and be-
lievers. His active and passive obedience is theirs for their justifi-
cation, as if they had done it themselves. His Spirit, word, and
providences, are theirs for their sanctification. His power in hea-
OF UNION WITH CHRIST. 553
veil is theirs for their glorification. In a word, his broad covenant,
with all the precious promises in it, is theirs to make them happy
here and hereafter, 2 Pet. 1. 4.
(3.) They are perfectly safe from the wrath of God, Rom. viii. 1.
' There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.'
Their sins are still very disi)leasing in the sight of God, and deserve
condemnation as well as those of others. But being in Christ, they
are beyond the reach of the curse of the law ; they are got into the
city of refuge, where the avenger of blood cannot attack thera.
They are under the mild government of the covenant of grace,
which threatens fatherly anger and temporal chastisements in case
of transgression, but no more, Psal. Ixxxix. 30. — 33.
(4.) The Lord takes pleasure in and accepts their persons, graces
and duties, thougli attended with manifold imperfections. Their
persons are accepted, though a body of death hangs about them,
Eph. i. 6. Their graces, though there is much dross in them, yet
because the image of Christ is on them, they are accepted, Cant. v.
1. Their duties, though far from the perfection which the law re-
quires, are accepted. Cant. ii. 14. Tlieir will is accepted for the
deed, and their grief for the want of will, for the will itself, 2 Cor.
viii. 12.
(5.) All their wants lie upon Christ, Col. ii. 10. As the union
gives them a communion with him in what is his, so he has a commu-
nion with them in what is theirs ; so that Christ is to answer for all
their debt, poverty, and wants, as he that marries the widow in
debt, Psal. Iv. 22. So they look and may look to him for all, for
wisdom, righteousness, sanctificatlon, and redemption.
Use II. Ye may try by this, whether the Spirit has applied to
you the redemption purchased by Christ. If so be, then ye are
united to Christ. If men only apply that redemption to themselves,
it will be found presumption, and not faith, and no union with
Christ ; and the plaister thus applied will not stick. But where
the right application is made, there the sinner is united to Jesus
Christ. Ye may try whether ye be united to Christ or not by these
marks. The general Mark is. If ye be disjoined from what ye
were formerly knit to, and carried to Christ for all. It is with the
soul united to Christ as with an ingrafted branch, which is broken
from off the tree it naturally grew on, and is joined to another,
from which it draws all the sap. If ye be united to Christ, ye are
disjoined and broken off from the natural stock, and ingrafted into
Christ. Ye may take up this in these tliree things.
1. Ye have given up with the law as a covenant of works, and
betaken yourselves wholly to the grace of Christ in the second co-
2 X
554 OF UNION WITH CIiniST.
venant. That is to be ' dead to the law, and married to Christ,'
Rora. vii. 4. Ye are broken off from all your natural confidences
before the Lord, founded on anything whatsoever that is not Christ
or in Christ, and lay your whole confidence before the Lord on him.
So that he is your all in point of confidence before the throne, Phil,
iii. 8. This is a sure evidence, Phil. iii. 3 ; Matth. v. 3. ' Blessed
are the poor in spirit ;' where it is observable, that this leads the
van, and is to be carried through all the rest of the duties and
graces following. This is the very nature of faith as it unites to
Christ.
2. Your hearts are separated and disjoined from sin, and labour-
ing to take up their everlasting rest in Christ, as the centre of your
desires. Psalm cxix. 128. and Ixxiii. 25. Men's desires naturally
go out after the world and their lusts, and if they have any desires
after Christ, it is but a desire of him together with their lusts. But
grace turns the heart against these, and kindles desires of Christ,
instead of lusts, Matth. xiii. 45, 46. This is a sure evidence, Matth.
V. 6. It is true, while here the saints are not separated from sin
in action, Psal. Ixv. 3. But in affection they are, Rom. vii. 24. and
in that respect Christ has the crown, and lusts the cross. Gal. v. 24.
And thus God judges of them, 2 Cor. viii. 12. ' For if there be first
a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not
according to that he hath not.'
3. Ye are carried out of yourselves into Jesus Christ, Matth. xvi.
24. To a natural man his sweet self is his all ; but grace turns self
off the throne, and sets up Christ in its stead. While the man is
separated from Christ, he has separate interests from him : but
when united to Christ, these are all swallowed up in Christ's inter-
est, as the rivers, when they go into the sea, have no more their se-
parate channels. Ye know the difference betwixt a married and an
unmarried woman. The unmarried woman lives upon her own, and
pleases herself; the married lives on her husband's, and pleases
him. Such is the difference betwixt one separated from, and one
united to Christ, Psal. xlv. 10.
(1.) The soul in a state of separation from Christ lives on its own,
acts from itself as the highest principle, stands on its own legs, as it
were, and takes its own weight to bear (Prov. xxviii. 26.) in point
of sanctification. It is like that nominal marriage, Isa. iv. 1. 'And
in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We
will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel : only let us be
called by thy name, to take away our reproach.' And therefore
such a one is called ' sensual, having not the spirit,' Jude, ver. 19.
one that has no higher principle than his own soul.
OF UNION WITH CHRIST. 655
The soul united to Christ lives on his, or by hira, John vi. 57.
Being sensible of its utter impotency for good, it flees to him, his
Spirit and grace, and relies on him for strength, Jer. xxxi. 18, This
is the life of faith. The one, like Goliah, goes forth in confidence
of his strength, sword, and spear ; the other, like the stripling Da-
vid, goes forth in the name of the Lord. Tliis is a sure evidence,
Phil. iii. 3 ; Cant. viii. 5.
(2.) The man in a state of separation lives for himself, as his
chief end, in point of sanctification too, Hos. x. 1. In what good
he does, his great end is to serve and please himself, not to serve
and please the Lord. And it can be no otherwise with the natural
man ; for as the mouth of a river can be no higher than its spring,
so he that acts from himself can never but act for self. And thus
God regards not their service.
But the man united to Christ lives to the Lord, Rom. xiv. 7, 8,
Phil. i. 21. The gracious soul, like the married woman, cares how
to please her husband, would fain be holy, and endeavours to be so,
that she may be like him. The soul united to Christ is not barren
of good works, John xv. 5 ; but brings them forth to him, Rom. vii.
4 ; the great end of their duties being not to content themselves,
but to walk before him in all well-pleasing. This also is a sure
evidence, Phil. i. 21. ' To me to live is Christ.'
Use ult. Of exhortation. 0 be exhorted,
1. To be deej)ly concerned for union with Christ. 0, sinner, take
no rest till thou be in him. Seek to unite with him, and live no
longer in a state of separation from him. To press this, consider,
Mot. 1. Thou may be doing, but thou canst do nothing to purpose,
while not united to Christ, John xv. 5. None of thy duties will be
accepted of God, however great they be in thy own eyes, or those of
others, Eph. i. 6. An ox off"ered on the altar of Bethel would have
been rejected, when two young doves were accepted on the altar of
Jerusalem. They want the inworking of Christ's Spirit, James v.
16. the incense of Christ's intercession, and therefore cannot be ac-
cepted of the Father.
3Iot. 2. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, the redemp-
tion purchased by Christ, till thou be united with him, Eph. ii. 12.
It is not thine till it be applied to thee ; and it is not applied but
in the way of union with him. The ark, doubtless, could have saved
more than it did ; but what availed it to many that there was an
ark, since they were not in it ? Though there be a remedy that
would cure thee, what does it avail thee, while it is not applied to
thee?
Mot. 3. Miserable and dangerous beyond expression is thy state
2 N 2
556 OF UNION WITH CHRIST.
while thou art not united to Christ, Eph. ii. 12. Poor soul, thou art
sitting in the region and shadow of death, in the suburbs of hell.
The wrath of God is hovering over thy head, though thou per-
ceivest it not, John iii. ult. ' He that believeth not, — the wrath of
God abideth on hira.' Thou art secure but far from safety. The
deluge of wrath is at hand, but thou hast no ark. The avenger of
blood is at thy heels, and thou art not got into the city of refuge ;
the destroying angel is coming through, and thy door-posts are not
sprinkled with blood yet ; and fire and brimstone are ready to be
rained down upon thee, but thou hast no Zoar to flee to.
Mot. ult. Christ ofters to unite with you, Rev. iii. 20. even with
the worst and vilest of you all. He sends out his ambassadors to
gain your consent to this union, and win your hearts. Behold the
former of all things making suit to his own clay, Matth. xxii. 4.
* All things are ready ; come unto the marriage.' "Will ye slight
and despise this union, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal
life?
2. Labour to get the Spirit, who casts the inviolable knot. If ye
have not the Spirit of Christ, ye can be none of his.
3. Lastly, Believe. Christ and all his redemption are in your
offer. Believe his word, embrace him in it, let your whole soul say
amen to the blessed bargain. Consent to the gospel-offer, saying.
Henceforth then he is mine, and I am his. Christ does not appre-
hend a soul by his Spirit, as a man takes a tree in his arms, but as
one friend takes another, who mutually clasp one another. Do not
delay this work ; do not say, Ye dare not do it, since without it ye
cannot be united to Christ.
OF EFFECTUAL CALLING. 557
OF EFFECTUAL CALLING.
2 Tisr. i. 9. — WJio hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace
tvhich was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
The mystical union betwixt Christ and a sinner is brought to pass
in the effectual calling of a sinner, which I come now to explain,
and we have in the text. The apostle had exhorted Timothy to a
confident adhering to the doctrine of the gospel, over the belly of
afflictions for the cause of God ; and in the text shews a good reason
that both he himself and Timothy had to do so, taken from what
God had done for them.
1. What the Lord had done for them. (1.) Saved them ; namely,
from sin and wrath ; i. e. had brought them into a state of salvation
out of a state of sin and misery, applied Christ's salvation to them,
which is so effectual that never one dies of the disease after it is
applied, and therefore may be said thereupon to be saved. (2.)
Called them, namely, by his Spirit, when they were at a distance
from him ; he called them to himself, saved and called ; not that he
first saved, and then called them ; but he saved them by calling
them ; which shews this call to be an effectual call. Therefore also
it is called an holy calling, not only as proceeding from an holy God,
but as making the called holy too.
2. The cause of the Lord's doing this for them. (1.) Negatively;
not for any merit of theirs, they had done nothing to move God to
call them more than others. (2.) Positively: [1.] His eternal pur-
pose of love and salvation to them, as the apostle explains it, Rom.
viii. 30. They were from eternity predestinated to salvation and
the means of it, and therefore in complement of that purpose were
savingly called. [2.] His grace or free favour given tlicm in and
through Jesus Christ, which is said to have been given them before
the world began, from eternity ; namely, virtually in the decree,
which secured the real giving them it in time, as much as if they
had it in hand. And this account of the causes of this call does
further evince it to be effectual calling that is meant.
The doctrine of the text is,
DocT. ' All that partake of Christ's salvation are effectually
called.'
Here I shall briefly explain to you the nature of effectual callings,
and then apply it.
Effectual calling is the first entrance of a soul into the state of
2n3
558 OF EFFECTUAL CALLING.
grace, the first step by which God's eternal purpose of love descends
unto sinners, and we again ascend towards the glory to which we
are chosen. And upon the matter, it is the same with conversion
and regeneration. I shall shew,
I. What the effectual call in the general is.
II. Who they are that are effectually called.
III. Whence and whither are they called that are effectually
called.
lY. What makes the call effectual to some, when it is not so to
others.
V. What is the necessity of their being thus effectually called.
YI. I shall more particularly explain the nature of effectual
calling.
I. I am to shew what the effectual call in the general is. An
effectual call is opposed to an ineffectual one. An effectual call is
the call that gains its real intent ; that is to say, when the party
called comes when called. An ineffectual call is that which gains
not the real intent of it, but falls short thereof, the party called not
answering and obeying the call. To apply this to our purpose, all
that hear the gospel are called ; but,
1. To some of them it is ineffectual, and these are the most part
of gospel-hearers, Matth. xx. 16. ' For many be called, but few cho-
sen.' They are called, invited, and obtested to come to Christ ; but
it is but the singing of a song to a deaf man that is not moved with
it, Prov. i. 24. The real intendment of the call is lost upon them.
Though the intent of Grod the great caller can never be lost, who
says, ' My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure,' Isa.
xlvi. 10. yet the design of the thing is so. Though they are called,
yet they come not to Christ, they sit his call, to their own destruc-
tion.
2. To others it is effectual, and these are but few, Matt. xx. 16.
forecited. They get the call, and they rise and come away to
Christ. It is not only the intent of the call, but of him that called
them, to have them home to himself; and they receive not the grace
of the gospel in vain. While others at best do but play about the
bait, they greedily embrace it, and are catched according to that,
' Ye shall be fishers of men.' They come away like Lot out of
Sodom, while others account the call in effect but a jest, and so
abide and j)erish in the overthrow.
II. I come now to shew who they are that are thus effectually
called. The text tells us, that this effectual call is according to
God's purpose and free grace in Christ ; and so it follows, that the
elect, and they only are thus called, Rom. viii. 30. Acts xiii. 48.
OP EFFECTUAL CALLIJfG. 559
Others may be oiitwardlj' called by the raiuistry of the word, and
have some common operations of the Spirit too, but are never effec-
tually called. The bow is shot at a venture among the hearers of
the gospel ; but God, that knoweth who are his, directs the arrow,
so as to make it hit right. 0 the riches and freedom of grace that
appears in this ! For,
1. It is men, and not fallen angels, that are called, though they
should have been preferred, if God had respected the dignity of na-
ture among his lost creatures. But ' the angels which kept not
their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in
everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great
day,' Jude, 6. There is special love in that, ' Unto you, 0 men, I
call ; and my voice is to the sons of men,' Prov. viii. 4. 0 may we
not say, as Psal. viii. 4. ' What is man, that thou art mindful of
hira? and the son of man, that thou visitest him ?
2. It is some men, and not others, that are called eifectually, and
these naturally in as bad and sinful a condition as others, Eph. ii.
12. ' At the time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the com-
monwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise,
having no hope, and without God in the world.' They cannot i)re-
tend here, that they made the difference by their works ; for says
the text. He saved us, and called us, not according to our works. Nay,
oft-times, they were worse than many others, such as fornicators,
idolaters, &c. of whom Paul to the Corinthians, 1 Epist. vi. 11. says,
' Such were some of you : but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified,
and justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our
God.' And says that apostle of himself, 1 Tim. i. 13. ' I was be-
fore a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious. But I obtained
mercy.' Oft-times grace chuses to work on the most knotty piece
of timber, which there is the least hope of.
3. LastJi/, It is for the most part those who have the least advan-
tages as to their outward condition in the world. For says the
apostle, 1 Cor. i. 26, 27, 28. ' Ye see your calling, brethren, how
that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many
noble are called. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the
world, to confound the wise ; and God hath chosen the Aveak things
of the world, to confound the things which are mighty ; and base
things of the world, and things Avhich are despised, hath God chosen,
yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.'
The Lord takes some of the greatest wits, of the greatest power,
and the best blood in the world, but not many such. But often
grace passeth by the learned man, and wise, and sits down and
teaches babes in comparison with them. He passes by the rich, the
5G0
OF EFFECTUAL CALLIXti.
noble, and the gentle, and brings tbe meaner sort, the kinloss things
[ta agene], into a match with the Son of God, and an alliance with
Heaven.
III. I proceed to shew whence and whither they are called who
are effectually called. That I may answer this iu a few words, ob-
serve, that there was a blessed bond of society betwixt God and his
rational creatures, and among themselves, till sin entered, and then
all was shaken loose. As it was at the building of Babel, so it was
at the entrance of sin, there was a great scattering ; sinners were
separated from God, and from the holy angels, and scattered up and
down on the mountains of vanity. For remedy of this, God ap-
pointed Jesus Christ the Head, in whom an elect world might meet
again with God, and be gathered together among themselves, Eph,
i. 10. ' That in the dispensation of the fulness of times, he might
gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in hea-
ven, and which are on earth, even in him.' 1 Pet. ii. 25. 'For ye
were as sheep going astray ; but are now returned unto the Shep-
herd and Bishop of your souls.' So then they that are effectually
called, are,
1. Called out of the world that lieth in wickedness, 1 John v. 19.
And hence the church has its name in the prophetical and apostoli-
cal writings, Ekklesia ; q. d. a company called out from among
others, a gathered congregation. And so the gathering of them is
made the great work of Jesus Christ, the Founder of the church,
John xi. 52. The elect of God, in their natural condition, are lost
sheep gone astray among the devil's goats ; effectual calling is the
biinging them from out among them, back to Christ's fold. They
are the lost groat lying hid among the dnst of the nasty house of
this world ; effectual calling is the taking them out from among
that dust, and restoring them to the use for which they were de-
signed.
Thus Clirist bespeaks his spouse (for that work is still going on,
aiid will be so, till they be quit of the world, soul and body, 1
Thess. V. 24.) 'Hearken, 0 daugliter, and consider, and incline thine
ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house*.' Psal.
xiv. 10. ' come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from
Lebanon : look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and
Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.'
Tliey are called away from the sinful and miserable state of the
world, from their ways manners and work ; in a word, out of their
society, so that though they be in the world, they are no more of it,
* The author ha:- some excellent serniotis on these texts, not yet printed.
OF EFFECTUAL CALLIXG. 561
and tlierefore do they fare so ill in it, John xy. 19. Because ye are
not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore
the world hateth you.'
2. Called unto Jesus Christ, and through him to the blessed so-
ciety of another world. So the call runs, Matth. xi. 28. * Come un-
to me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest.' The society they are called and come to is that of God him-
self, the holy angels, all the saints in heaven and earth which have
gone before them, Jesus Christ being the blessed bond of the society,
the centre of union wherein they meet, Heb. xii. 22, 23, 24. ' Ye
are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to
the general assembly and church of the first born, which are writ-
ten in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just
men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant,
and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that
of Abel.' Here the call is, ' All things are ready ; come unto the
marriage,' Matth. xxii. 4.
Thus they are, like Noah, called into the ark, where they will be
safe when the deluge of wrath sweeps away the world of the un-
godly. Like Lot, they are called unto Zoar, where they will be
safe while fire and brimstone is rained on those that stay behind.
They are called to the feast on the great sacrifice, Christ crucified,
while others perish for want ; to the partaking of the benefits of
Christ's redemption, while others have neither part nor lot in that
matter, but must fall a sacrifice for their own sins to avenging jus-
tice. The particulars they are called to, will serve them to tell
th.rongh eternity.
lY. I proceed to shew what makes the call efiectual to some,
when it is not so to others. Negatively,
1. It is neither the piety, parts, nor seriousness of those who are
employed to carry the gospel-call to sinners, 1 Cor. iii. 7- Indeed,
if moral suasion were suflicient to bring sinners back to God, men
that have the art of persuading, and can speak movingly and seri-
ously could not fail to have vast numbers of converts. But that
work is not so brought about, Luke xvi. ult. Hence said Abraham
to the rich man in hell, ' If they hear not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.'
Never did these, conjunctly or severally, appear in any, as in Clirist,
who ' spake as never man spake.' But behold the issue, John xii.
37, 38. 'But though hohad done so many miracles before them, yet
they believed not on him : that the saying of Esaias tlie prophet
might be fulfilled, which he spake, ' Loi'd, who hath believed our re-
port ^ and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed f
562 OF EFFECTUAL CALLING.
2. Neither is it one that uses his own free-will better than ano-
ther does, Rom. ix. 6. ' It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that
runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.' For every man will be
unwilling till the power from another quarter make him willing,
John vi. 44. If it were so, one man should make himself to diifer
from another in that grand point. But hear what the Apostle Paul
says, 1 Cor. iv. 7. 'Who maketh thee to differ from another?'
Men are dead in trespasses and sins, and such cannot difference
themselves.
2. Positively. We may say in this case, ' Not by might, nor by
power, but by the Spirit of the Lord.' It is the Spirit of the Lord,
accompanying the call of the word, that makes it effectual, John vi.
63. Hence days of the plentiful effusion of the Spirit are good
days for the take of souls, and contrarywise, when the Spirit is re-
strained, Psal. ex. 3. Therefore Isaiah resolves the question thus,
' Who hath believed our report ? and to whom is the arm of the
Lord revealed ?' The report may reach the ears, but it is the arm
of the Lord that must open the heart, as it did that of Lydia.
Mahomet II. the Turkish emperor, having desired to see Scander-
beg's scymitar, said, that he saw nothing in it more than ordinary ;
the other returned him answer, that the virtue of the weapon depen-
ded on the strength of his arm.
Y. It may be asked. What necessity is there for their being thus
called ? The necessity of it is manifest to all that know their na-
tural case.
1. They are far off, Eph. ii. 13. far from God, and Christ, and all
good, Eph. ii. 12. Hence the call is, ' Draw nigh to God.' We are
at a distance from him naturally ; not a distance of place, for God
is every where, Acts xvii. 27. but of opposition, as far from him as
war from peace, black from white, and hell from heaven. Our na-
ture is contrary to his, and our will to his will, Rom. viii. 7- And
there is no bringing us to him but by a very powerful and effectual
call, whereby the sinner is irresistibly drawn, John vi. 44. ' No man
can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me, draw him.'
2. They are hard and fast asleep, and they need this call, Eph.
V. 14. ' Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and
Christ shall give thee light.' The ship they are in is every moment
in hazard of being swallowed up of the waves, for the storm of
wrath is gone out against it; but, like Jonah, they are down in the
sides of the ship, know nothing of the matter to purpose, but are
fast asleej). All their spiritual senses are locked up, they can nei-
ther see nor hear. Ministers cry, conscience cries. Awake thou
sleeper, but to no purpose ; if they be disturbed, they lay down
OF EFFECTUAL CALLING. 563
their heads again, and take yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
though they should never awaken till they be in the bottom of the
deep. And thus on they sleep, till the Spirit of the Lord call them
effectually.
3. If they were awakened, they know not where to go to. Acts ii.
37. When they find the house on fire about their heads, they know
not how to make their escape. The law-light that awakens them,
cannot let them see Christ. He is preached and pointed out in the
word, but they cannot take up the city of refuge, nor the way that
leads to it, 1 Cor. ii. 14. until the Spirit of the Lord call them by
his power, and they hear the voice behind them, saying, ' This is the
way, walk ye in it.' Christ is a veiled Saviour to the natural man,
till his eyes be opened.
4. If they did know Avhere to go to, they are not willing to go
thither, John v. 40. They are naturally unwilling to leave their
lusts ; all the milk and honey of the heavenly Canaan held forth in
the gospel, cannot wean their hearts from the flesh-pots of Egypt.
To leave a lust is like the cutting oft' of a right baud. And in this
respect they need a powerful call, such a word from the Lord him-
self as makes the mountains to shake, the rocks to rend, and the
graves to give up their dead, and the whale to vomit up Jonah.
And particularly they are naturally unwilling to come to Christ,
and will not be made willing in a day of power, Psal. ex. 3. When
they are convinced of their disease, yet they cannot think to emj)loy
that Physician, or undergo his method of cure. Hence so many
awakened sinners employ physicians of no value ; they will go to
the law that wounded them, they will watch, pray, mourn, and ma-
cerate their own bodies, rather than believe. For there is a pecu-
liar enmity in man's nature against the gospel-way of salvation.
So there is a necessity of an effectual call.
5. If they were willing to go to Christ, yet being awakened, they
dare not venture, guilt so stares them in the face, Jer. ii. 25. ' Thou
saidst. There is no hope.' While the man is asleep, it is nothing to
him to believe, to come to Christ ; like people that walk in their
sleep, they can go any where fearlessly. But when he is awakened,
it is not so easy. He will then be like Adam, hiding himself on
hearing the voice of the Lord, and will not come till he be called by
the Lord himself. Hence so many words of grace heaped on one
another in gospel-invitations, Isa. Iv. 7, 8, 9. ' Let the wicked for-
sake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts ; and let him
return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our
God, for he will abundantly pai'don. For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways saith the Lord. For as
564 OF EFFECTUAL CALLING.
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higlier than
your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.' For the Lord
knows, that however the sinner unawakened thinks coming to Christ
a light thing, yet when once awakened, doubts and fears will be
going as thick as dust in the sweeping of a dry floor.
6. Lastlij, If they durst come, yet they cannot come, unless they
be drawn, John vi. 44. forecitcd. Siuners naturally are not only
asleep, but dead in sins. And no less power is requisite to bring
them than to raise the dead, and therefore this call is a voice that
raiseth the dead, John v. 25. The product of this call is a new
creation, Eph. ii. 10, compare Eom. iv. 17.
VI. Lastly, I shall more particularly explain the nature of efl'ec-
tual calling. Ye see it is the work of the Lord's Spirit ; and there
is a twofold work of the Spirit upon the elect soul in eftectual call-
ing, one on the understanding, and the other on the will.
FIRST, On the understanding. This is the leading faculty of
the soul, which by sin is overspread with darkness, Eph. v. 8. Sa-
tan finishes his work here, Avho, when he has got the soul asleep,
shuts door and window, and draAVs the curtains, that the liglit may
not enter, that so the soul may sleep the sleep of death ; does as the
Philistines did with Samson, puts out the sinner's eyes, when his
strength is gone. And God begins his work here, as in the first
creation, so in the second creation, ' The earth was without form,
and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep : and the
Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said,
Let there be light : and there was liglit' Gen. i. 2, 3. Now, the
work of the Spirit herein is twofold.
First, An illumination of the soul from mount Sinai. And that
is conviction of siu and misery, John xvi. 8. or the law-work. The
Spirit of the Lord speaks to the soul as it were out of the midst of
t':e fire; but there is blackness, darkness, and tempest, mixed with
this light. And here consider the matter, the effects, the means,
and the depth, of this conviction.
First, The matter of this conviction which is twofold.
1. Sin, John xvi. 8. ' He will reprove the world of sin.' The Spi-
rit of the Lord convinces the man that he is a sinner, and sets his
particular sins in order before him, Psal. 1. 21. Then sins that are
out of mind, as dead and buried, have a fearful resurrection, Rom,
vii. 9. The spirit of bondage leads his prisoner in chains, through
the several parts and steps of this life, to his very birth; and
shews him convincingly his sins in them : lets him see such ill in sin
as he never saw before, how heinously God takes it, and that with
tlie several aggravations thereof.
OF EFFECTUAL CALLING. 565
2. Misery, John xvi. 8. The Spirit of the Lord convinces him,
that he is lost and nndone, Lulce xv. 17- Being convicted and
found guilty, sentence passes on him within his own breast, whereby
he sees himself doomed to eternal death. He is convinced, as if an
angel from heaven should tell him, that he is under God's wrath
and curse, and that therefore, if he die in that case, he will perish
for ever. He sees God to be his enemy ; his word to speak no good
of him, and all God's creatures his enemies in some sort ready
armed against him.
Secondly, The eifects of it are these three especially.
1. Remorse, Acts ii. 37. ' They were pricked in their hearts.'
The man's conscience now galls him, and he is stung to the heart by
the serpent which he hugged so kindly. Waves of killing grief and
sorrow go over his soul, for his bypast folly and madness. He sees
he has been murdering his own soul, and he groans out an elegy
over his dead self.
2. Terror, Acts xvi. 27- as in the case of the Phillippian jailor.
He sees now how he has to do with a holy just God, and how fearful
a thing it is to fall into his hands. Horror takes hold on him, be-
cause of the judgments which he valued no more than the shadow of
the mountains before. Then the stoutest sinner will quake at the
shaking of a leaf, within his bosom, at the thought of death and
eternity. A word from the Lord will pierce like a sword.
3. Anxiety, Acts ii. 37. The soul is then stretched on the rack,
and would fain know if there be any hope. Sometimes it hopes,
sometimes fears, but always would fain be delivered. This anxiety
will fill head, and heart, and hand, and swallow up all other cares ;
for then the soul sees the truth of that saying, ' What is a man pro-
fited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul ? or
what shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?' Mat. xvi. 26.
Thirdli/, The means by which this conviction is wrought. The
Spirit of the Lord makes use of the word for that effect, and parti-
cularly of the law. The elect soul is brought prisoner to Mount
Sinai, and there the Spirit of the Lord reads a dreadful lecture of
the fiery law unto it. And here,
1. By the commands, the Spirit convinces of sin, Rom. vii. 7.
The law is held out in its spirituality, and it proves to be the candle
of the Lord, searching the innermost parts of the belly ; a looking
glass, wherein one gets such a sight of himself as he never had
before.
2. By the threatenings and curse of the law, the Spirit convinces
of misery. There they read their doom, Gal. iii. 10. ' Cursed is
every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the
566 OF EFFECTUAL CALTilNG.
book of the law to do them.' Then every command appears fenced
"with a curse, and so each of them writes death to the sinner. And
thus the law exacting perfect conformity to it, and binding wrath
and sin together, binds over the sinner to death.
Fourthly, The depth of this conviction. This conviction, or law-
work, is not alike in all ; but it is deep enough, and but enough,
when,
1. The sinner is not only convinced of the sins of his life, lips,
and heart, but also of the sin of his nature, Rom. vii. 14. He must
be convinced of the corrupt disposition of his soul, whereby he is
fitted for all evil, and unfit for any good ; for if he see not where
his sore lies, how can he aj)ply the remedy to it ? Therefore the
Lord bids the people of Judah to ' break up their fallow ground,
and sow not among thorns,' Jer. iv. 3. to carry down the plow to the
root of their corruptions, which is the sin of our nature. It was the
ruin of the stony ground, that there was no depth of the earth.
And it is the ruin of many who are convinced, that they never get a
true sight of their own sinful nature ; and thus their case turns to
be like that of a boil, not sufficiently lanced, it is scarfed over a
while, but never healed.
2. When the sinner is convinced of his absolute need of Christ,
and of all his salvation, John xvi. 8. It is for this end that the
Spirit works this work on the elect. Sinners will not come to Christ
as long as they can find any other way ; and therefore the Spirit
hunts the elect out of all their starting holes, that finding no rest
for the soles of their feet, they may get into the ark.
Therefore they must be convinced that they cannot want him;
that they are utterly undone, if they get not an interest in him.
And they must see their need of his sanctifying Spirit, as well as his
justifying blood ; that they must be saved by him from sin, as well
as from wrath. They must see their utter inability to take away
their guilt by all their mourning, reformation, &c. and that they can
as little mortify a lust as take away guilt.
Inf. 1. How hopeless is the case of many that have never yet been
awakened by the Spirit of conviction ! The forerunners of the effec-
tual call are not yet come unto you.
2. "What a madness is it to work against and stave ofi" convictions,
or to murder them when they have once entered ! These sinners
against their own souls, wrestle against their own salvation.
Secondly, The work of the Spirit in effectual calling, is an illu-
mination of the soul from Mount Zion. It is the enlightening in the
knowledge of Christ, Acts xxvi. 18. It is the finding of the pearl
spoken of, Matt. xiii. 45, 46. It is the discovery of the Physician to
OF EFFECTUAL CALLING. 56?
the soul anxious for spiritual life and health. And this is a refresh-
ing illumination, like the appearance of the rising sun after a long
black and dark night, Hos. vi. 3. And here let us consider the mat-
ter, the effect, the means, and the measure, of this illumination.
First, The matter of this illumination is twofold.
1. Christ's ability to save. The man is made to see that Christ is
able to save him, and that however desperate his condition be, he
can cure him, Heb. vii. 25. ' He is able also to save them to the ut-
termost that come unto God through him.' The eyes that were held
before that they could not perceive him, discover now his glorious
suitableness to their case. They see him in the glory of his person
and natures, and his offices; a fulness in him, of merit for their jus-
tification, and of Spirit for their sanctification.
2. His willingness to save. The man is made to see that Christ is
willing to save him, John vi. 37. ' Him that cometh to me, (says the
Lord Jesus), I will in nowise cast out.' He sees that there is hope
in Israel concerning his salvation in particular ; that however his
sins be many and gi'eat, yet he is not excluded from the benefit of
the indemnity proclaimed and oftered in the gospel. He discovers
the Saviour stretching out his arms to embrace him, and calling him
to partake of the benefits of his purchase.
SeconcUt/, The effect of this illumination is hope. As the wise
merchant hoping to be the owner of the pearl, sets himself to it,
Matth. xiii. 46. The soul then begins to lift up its head, and says,
' Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing
behind him V Joel. ii. 14. ; and with Jonah in the whale's belly,
' Tet I will look again toward thy holy temple,' Jonah ii. 4. And
this is a blessed anchor of the soul that is yet in the depths, and has
not got ashore, and keeps it from despondency.
Thirdly, The means by which it is wrought. That is the glorious
gospel in the hand of the Spirit, Acts xxvi. 17, 18. For Christ is
the subject of it, Eph. iii. 8. The law discovers the disease, and the
gospel the physician. The one is effected by the thunder of a
broken law, and the other by the still small voice of the gospel.
And herewith begins the healing of the wounded soul.
Fourthly, The measure of it. The clearer this light be, it is so
much the better. The more fully one be persuaded of Christ's
ability and willingness to save, the more quick and thorough will
his deliverance from all his fears be. But it is more or less, and
not of one degree, in all. But so much of it is necessary as may
make the soul venture itself on Christ, Mark ix. 24. And even this
is very acceptable in the sight of the Lord, as the fruit of his own
Spirit, Cant. vi. 10.
568 OF EFFECTUAL CALLING.
SECONDLY, The second work of the Spirit in effectual calling is
on the will of the sinner. This faculty of the soul needs also a
saving work of the Spirit tliereon, being fearfully depraved in the
state of nature, Rom. viii. 7. Effectual calling is the Lord's open-
ing of the heart, as Lydia's ; as the call of the gospel is, to open to
him, Rev. iii. 20. There is a twofold door opened in effectual call-
ing. (1.) The outer door of the understanding. That is opened by
the twofold illumination spoken of before. And that door may at
least be half-opened, as blown up by a law-storm of conviction, and
yet the soul be not effectually called. (2.) The inner door of the
will ; and when that is opened, the work is done, Christ and the sin-
ner meet. It is the great work. Now, the Spirit's work on the
will is,
The renewing of it, Ezek. xxxvi. 26. The Spirit of the Lord
takes away the old and obstinate will of the sinner, which was an
iron sinew in his neck, that would never bow to him ; and gives him
a new will, renewing him in the Spirit of his mind. Sin gave all
the faculties of the soul a wrong set, particularly the will, which
was originally bent in conformity to the will of God ; but in the
state of nature is bent the quite contrary way, Rom. viii. 7- The
Spirit of the Lord in effectual calling brings it back in some mea-
sure to its primitive constitution.
This renovation does not change the soul in its substance but in
the qualities thereof. It is the endowing of the will with new
qualities, removing and breaking the power of the old ones, Ej)h. iv.
23, 24. planting in it new dispensations and inclinations. These are
chiefly two :
1. Flexibleness or pliableness to good, Ezek. xxxvi. 20. ' I will
take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an
heart of flesh.' The stony heart is inflexible ; it will break but not
bow. But grace makes it a heart of flesh, that will bow according
to the will of God. It powerfully melts it down, like wax before
the fire ; and makes it capable of impressions of holiness. Acts ix.
6. ' Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?' content to be made holy,
to be made clean, to come into the Physician's hand ; willing to
part with sin. The natural contumacy, wilfulness, and refractori-
ness, is carried off ; the bullock unaccustomed to the yoke is tamed,
and is taught to stand and receive it.
2. A proneness and bent of the will to good, Jer. xxxi. 18. The
natural aversion is conquered, and the will that bent to the
wrong side, by a powerful touch of the hand of the sanctifying
Spirit, gets a set the contrary way, and is bowed or inclined to the
will of God. This David prays for, for himself, Psal. cxix. 36. ' In-
OP EFFECTUAL CALLING. 569
cline my heart unto thy testimonies ;' and the apostle, for the Thes-
salonians, 2 Epist. iii. 5. ' The Lord direct your hearts into the love
of God.' The Holy Ghost working like fire, softens the iron heart,
and then bends it according to his will, Psal. ex. 3. ' Thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power.'
If any ask, how this is done ? let them take their answer from
Eccl. xi. 5. ' Thou knowest not the works of God, who maketh all,
John iii. 8. ' The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest
the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it coraeth, nor whither
it goeth.' The works of God in nature are often beyond our reach
to account for the way of them, and no wonder his work of grace is
so. The effect is felt, the change is visible ; but how the Spirit
worketh it, who can distinctly trace that ? This we are sure of, it
is done in a way agreeable to the rational nature ; there is no force
or compulsion in the case ; but he that made the heart, makes it
willing, and sweetly, yet powerfully conquers it, Psal. ex. 3.
Thus ye have heard that the work of the Spirit is twofold on the
elect soul in effectual calling. It remains that,
Lastly, I shew you the blessed effect and happy issue of this two-
fold work of the Spirit on the elect soul. It is, that the sinner is
persuaded and enabled to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered in the
gospel. And thus the call is effectual. Here we may consider,
1. The effectual closing with the call. That is the sinner's em-
bracing Christ by faith, John i. 12. The call of the gospel comes
to poor sinners, saying, as Jer. iii. 22. ' Return, ye backsliding chil-
dren, and I will heal your backslidings : and when it is effectual,
the soul echoes back to the call, ' Behold, we come unto thee, for
thou art the Lord our God. The heart is won to Christ, the sinner
is conquered, says Amen to the covenant, and gives its consent to
Christ, to take him in the offer of the gospel. It comes out of it-
self, renounces its own wisdom, and takes Christ for a Prophet, a
Priest, and a King, for all, and instead of all. This is the great
design of the call ; and whatever length one come, he never answers
the call, till he come this length. Though people may come the
length of mourning for sin, and reformation of life in duties, if they
do not embrace Christ in the gospel-ofier, they stick in the place of
breaking forth.
2. The warrant the sinner has to embrace Christ. That is the
gospel-offer, Prov. viii. 4. ' Unto you, 0 men, I call ; and my voice
is to the sons of men.' It would be presumption indeed for guilty
creatures to embrace Christ, if he were not offered unto them. That
is a match which is so high above us, that we could have no hopes
of it, unless it were offered to us. But we are bidden to this mar-
2o
570 OF EFFECTUAL CALLING.
riage, Mattli. xxii. 4. We are commanded to believe on him, John
iii. 23. and that on our highest peril, Mark xvi. 16. ' He that heliev-
eth not, shall be damned.' And do what we will, we cannot please
God, if we do not that, Heb. xi. 6, * For without faith it is impos-
sible to i)lease him :' for that is what the Lord mainly requires of
us, John vi. 29. ' This is the work of God, that ye believe on him
whom he hath sent.'
4. How the elect soul is effectually determined to it. The Spirit
of the Lord persuades him to it, .John vi. 45. Every man that hath
heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.' The soul
has a bosom-counsellor, that leaves it not till it be won over to give
consent to the happy match. The sinner may stand long in sus-
pense, doubting whether to embrace the call or not, and Satan, with
the corrupt heart, will muster up all the objections they can against
it. But the Spirit of the Lord clears all their objections to the soul,
so far as they cannot get them sustained, and presses and urges the
sinner unanswerably to comply.
And this the Spirit does by the twofold illumination spoken of
before. Upon the one hand, the sinner is pressed with his lost and
undone state. He sees that he is undone for ever, if he does not
comply. On the other, he is pressed with the sight of Christ's abi-
lity and willingness to save, and the i)rospect of perfect happiness
upon his compliance. So that he sees all the reason in the world
for answering the call.
This shews that the Spirit acts in the conversion of a soul in a
way suitable to the rational nature. What stronger arguments are
possible than what are here made use of ? and how can they fail to
determine when the Spirit of the Lord, by his gracious work, sets
them home on the soul ? Can there be any thing more powerful to
determine the slayer to run, than to see the avenger of blood hard
behind him, and the city of refuge at hand before him ? And so it
is in this case.
Lastly, How the sinner is helped to comply with the call. The
Spirit of the Lord enables him, Eph. i. 19, 20. This is absolutely
necessary, John vi. 44. ' No man can come to -me, except the Fa-
ther, which hath sent me draw him.' In vain will we call the lame
man to run for his life, for, alas ! he cannot do it ; or the dead to
arise, for they cannot move. But the Lord with the call sends
forth a power enabling them to answer it, as in the case of Lazarus,
Phil. ii. 13. ' For it is God which worketh in you, both to will and
to do of his good pleasure.' The soul gets life from the Spirit of
life, feet to run to Christ, and hands to receive him, even the faith
that is of the operation of God. And so the work is completed.
OF EFrECTUAI. CALLING. 571
This is done by the renewing of the will in a special manner.
The soul being made pliable, actually complies ; and having got the
new disposition, acts accordingly, embracing and uniting with Jesus
Christ.
I proceed now to the application of this subject.
Use I. Of information. This lets us see,
1. The haj^piness of those that are effectually called; they are
partakers of Christ's salvation. He and his redemption are theirs.
Their particular privileges will afterwards occur. In the general,
(1.) Whatever they meet with in the world, it shall turn to their
good, Rom. viii. 28. Their crosses shall not be curses, but their
curses be turned into blessings. The teeth-winds they meet with
shall blow them towards their harbour, and every stone cast at
them shall be turned into a precious stone. They shall be gainers
by all, and losers by nothing at length. For that eternal purpose
by which they are called, has ordered all things for their good.
(2.) They shall surely be safe for ever : ' For the gifts and cal-
ling of Grod are without repentance,' Rora. ix. 29.
They are brought out from among the perishing multitude, and
they shall never fall back again. Of the society they are called in-
to, none can be lost. God Avill perfect the work which he has be-
gun ; and they that are brought upon this first step of the ladder,
shall go from one step to another, till they come into the hill of
God.
2. The misery of those who are not effectually called. They are
not partakers of Christ's redemption. We all have the external
call of the gospel ; but, alas ! how few of the called do come in up-
on the call ? 0, Sirs, see how ye entertain the gospel-call, your all
depends on it for salvation or damnation. While ye do not comply
with it, ye are in a lost state, a state of sin and wrath ; yea, if ye
do not comply with it, it will be worse for you than if ye had never
heard the gospel-call, Prov. i. 24. 1 shall here, for the conviction
of sinners, lay down some evidences of the gospel-call not being
effectual to them.
(1.) They that never felt a divine power coming with the word
into their hearts, are not effectually called, Isa. liii. 1. Psal.
ex. 3. Think on this, ye that have still sat unmoved under the
dropping of the gospel, into whose ears the word comes ; but as I
may say, it never sinks into your hearts. Ye have never lieard the
Lord's voice, and therefore are still in your sin.
(2.) They that never had any abiding impression made by the
word on their spirits. Many are like the stony ground on whom
the Avord makes some impression, while they hear or read it, but
2 o 2
572 OF KFPECTUAL C'ALLINO.
presently it goes away, Mattli. xiii. 6. They are like the sieve in
the water, fall, but immediately lose all again. Be sure, if ever the
Spirit of God deal effectually with you, he will make an impression
on you that will abide. Ye will carry it home with you, and it will
remain, till it make you cliange your way and course, and make
you new creatures.
(3.) They that are still with the world lying in wickedness; the
old men and women they were before, no change, no reformation
with them, by all the calls of the gospel, sounding in their ears,
1 John V. 19. If ever ye comply with the call, ye will come out,
and leave that way and that society. Such are all profane persons,
grossly ignorant of the truths of God, prayerless persons, and gene-
rally all that are not truly godly. 0 how easily may most be
known to be of the world ! Are there not many whose speech be-
wrays them ? they speak the language of the world, they know not
that of Canaan. They keep the way of the world; they are con-
formed to it, in sinful scaudalous practices. They drive worldly
designs as the main design they have in hand. The constant lan-
guage of their practice is, ' Who will shew us any good,' any worldly
or temporal good ? They go with ease the way of the multitude.
(4.) They that have never been under convictions of their sinful
and lost state. This is the first work of the Spirit in effectual
calling. What think ye of yourselves then, who have lived at
ease all your days, whose rest has never been disturbed with the
thoughts of what shall become of your immortal souls at death ?
Luke xi. 21. Have ye never seen yourselves lost and undone under
the wrath of God ? If so, it is an evidence, that it lies upon you
still. If ye have never seen yourselves children of the devil, it is a
sure token that ye are not yet the children of God.
(5.) Those wliose convictions have never gone deep enough,
Matth. xiii. 6. Many have got the sluggard's awakening, wiio
have been disturbed in their spiritual sleep, but never thoroughly
awakened, and therefore they have just fallen asleep again. They
have been frightened under the guilt of gross sins, but never saw the
evil of vain thoughts, idle words, &c. like children that are very
easy playing with the dust, as long as it gets not into their eyes.
If they have got a frightful sight of their actual sins, yet they
never had the sin of their nature spread out before them. They
have not been convinced of their need of Christ's Spirit for their
sanctification, as well as of his blood for their justification.
(6.) Those who have stifled their convictions, warred against an
awakened conscience, and come off victorious. Many take ways
and means to quench the Spirit, which prevail to their own ruin ; a
OF EFFECTUAL CALLIXtt. 573
plain evidence that they are strangers to the efficacious irresistible
operations of tlie Spirit in effectual calling. Some get their convic-
tions laid by delays and off-puts, as Felix did, Acts xxiv. 25.
Some for that end fill their heads and hands with business, like
Cain building cities. Some with carnal mirth divert them, or, by
rusliing on to more sin over the belly of their consciences, do choke
them, till they become as seared with a hot iron. 0 horrid cruelty
against the soul ! to refuse to be healed !
(7) Those who have never had any special illumination in the
knowledge of Christ. It is certain, that hypocrites may be enli;^ht-
ened both in the knowledge of the law and of the gospel. Heb. vi.
■i ; but there is a saving illumination in effectual calling that is pe-
culiar to them called, John iv. 10. Psal. is. 10. In that work
there is such a discovery made of Christ in his ability and willing-
ness to save, as shews him to be so suitable to the sinner's case, so
transceudently excellent, as that the soul is determined to embrace
him for all, Matth. xiii. 45, 46. It sinks the value of all created
things, and makes sinful lusts to appear as husks for swine, in c-om-
parison of the bread of life.
(8.) Those who, whatever light they have got, yet there h:is been
no heat with it, to melt down the heart and Avill into a pliableness
to the will of God, and the call of the gospel. Job xxiv. 13.
Many come a great length in light, by the common operations of the
Spirit, from whom the stony heart is never taken away, nor the
power of it broken. Such was the case of Balaam, in whom the
heart enmity against God and holiness is still rampant, as appears
from the history of him. Such also was the case of those men-
tioned, Heb. vi. 4. &c. The outer door is broken up by the force of
a law-storm, and some common touches of the Spirit on their
minds ; but the inner door remains still shut. The outworks are
taken, but the fort of the heart remains impregnable. Some one
lust or other still has the throne iu the heart.
(9.) Lastly, Those whose exercises have never issued in a kindly
closing with Christ in the gospel-offer. 0 ! it is lamentable to
think how many a good work that seems once fairly begun is
miserably marred. Some are still kept wavering and undeter-
mined, halting betwixt God and Baal, light pressing them forward,
love to their lusts drawing them back, so that their time is like to
go ere they come to a resolution what to do. Some, instead of
closing with Christ, close with duties ; but never come out of them-
selves to Christ, but like the spider, entangled iu her own web,
perish. But true believers ' rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no
confidence iu the flesh,' Phil. iii. 3. Some close with Christ for jus-
2 o3
574 OP EFFECTUAL CALLING.
tification, but never mind or see a need to close with him for sancti-
fication.
Use II. Of exhortation. Come away from the world lying; in
wickedness, nnto Jesus Christ, and so comply Avith the gospel-call.
Come away, sinners, unto him. For motives,
1. Consider what a society ye are called to come out of. See
their character, Eph. ii. 12. Those that are ' without Christ, being
aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the co-
venants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.'
"We are all natives of that society indeed ; but it is a Godless,
Christless society, Avhich we have need to leave, and that timeously.
(1.) It is a sinful society, a corrupt, unclean one, wliere there is
nothing pure. Tit. i. 15. Better lie in a kennel with dogs, c^r in a
hog-sty with swine, than with the world in Avickedness. Their souls
are like Job's body, boils and sores all over, that they have not a
free finger to scrape themselves withal. The society of the uncon-
verted are defiled in all their faculties, and so they can do nothing
that is good and acceptable in God's sight. Their thoughts are pol-
luted with vanity or vileness, their words are abominable, for their
throat is like an open sepulchre ; their actions, their very civil ac-
tions, are sinful, Prov. xxi. 4.; and their religious ones are so too,
Prov. XV. 8.
(2.) It is a most miserable society. Rev. iii. 17. 0 the wretched
state of the unconverted world ! what tongue can tell their misery,
who are without Christ, and without God in the world. They are
the butt of God's indignation, and set for a mark to the arrows of
his wrath, Psal. vii. 12, 13. They are those that are under God's
curse; their state is a prison, out of which those that die in it are
carried to the prison of hell : and there is no more difference be-
twixt them and the damned, than betwixt a dry faggot lying before
the fire ready to be cast in, and the faggot that is in it already.
A black cloud of wrath hangs over their heads at all times, ready
to break upon them, John iii. 36.
How can it be otherwise, since it is a society which Satan is the
head of, 2 Cor. iv. 4. ruled and governed by him, and with whom
those that die in it must lodge for ever ?
Now, sinners, have ye not been long enough there already ? May
I not say, as Deut. i. 6. ' Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount.'
0 come away from Lebanon ! Cjnt. iv. 8. Leave the world of the
ungodly, that are to be SAvept aAvay with the flood of wrath, and
come into the ark. Turn your back on that Sodom, which is to be
overthrown in its own filthiness ; haste and flee for your life ; there
is a Zoar to flee into, where ye may be safe.
OF EFFECTUAL CALLIXG. 575
2. Consider what a society ye are called to. This calling is a
high calling, Phil. iii. 14. It is a holy and hapj)y society. All the
saints, the excellent ones of the earth, are of it, the glorified saints,
the holy angels, and God in Christ is the head of it, Heb. xii. 22,
23, 24. 0 refuse not that high calling !
If ye will come away, ye shall enjoy the privileges of this society
as members thereof, Eph. ii. 19. Ye shall be inheritors of glory,
heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ : not only saved from wrath,
but made happy here in the favour of God, and completely blessed
in the full enjoyment of God to all eternity.
3. La.iitly, Consider who calleth you. It is the voice of a man
that ye hear, but the word of the call is the Loi^k own word : and
therefore I say, ' See that ye refuse not him that speaketh,' Heb. xii.
25. Our Lord Jesus has got the grant of the kingdom from the
Father ; and he minds to raise it up on the ruins of Satan's king-
dom. And therefore he comes to the world lying in wickedness,
to call out from among them whom he may make partakers of his
glory. And therefore I say unto you, ' Arise, for the Master call-
eth you.' And since it is so, it is evident,
(1.) Ye may come; there is an open door for yon, none of you all
are excluded, Isa. Iv. 1. The fallen angels have not that privilege,
and therefore they grudge ye should have it ; and they will do what
they can to keep you from the benefit of it.
(2.) Ye shall not be rejected, nor get the door cast in your teetli,
John vi. 37- Your being called ensures your welcome. Let not
unbelief suggest such jealousies, as that it is needless to come now,
for we will not be accepted ; for the market of free grace is not yet
over, and as long as the call is given yon, ye may be sure of wel-
come. Indeed the day will come, tliat Ciirist will cease to call yon;
and then it will be needless to think of coming : bnt 0 come while
the ^oor is open ! ' Strive to enter in at the strait gate : for many, I
say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When
once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door,
and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying.
Lord, Lord, open unto us ; and he shall answer and say unto you, I
know you not whence you are,' Luke xiii. 24, 25.
(3.) Lastly, If ye do not come, it is upon your peril, the peril of
the Mediator's vengeance. Does he call you, and will ye not come ?
Nay, you must come under the pain of the King's highest displea-
sure. Mat. xxii. 7.
As for you that are called, see that ye walk worthy of the voca-
tion wherewith ye are called, being holy in all manner of life and
conversation.
578 01' THE BENEFITS OF EFFECTUAL CALLING.
OF THE BENEFITS OF EFFECTUAL CALLING.
Rom. viii. 30. — Whom he called, them he also justified ; and whom he
justified, them he also glonfied.
In this and the preceding verse is the golden chain of salvation,
consisting of five links. The first two lie out of the sinner's view,
till they be brought to light by means of the third. The first is
God's foreknowledge, or eternal free-love and favour to some of
mankind, laid on them from everlasting. The second is the predes-
tination of these, Meeting them to everlasting life, and the means
leading thereto. TTlie third is the calling of the predestinated, call-
ing them eftectually, which is done in time, of which we have spoke
before : There are other two that hang upon this. The fourth is
the justification of the called which may imply the whole of the
relative change made upon them, both their justification and adop-
tion; for it is evident from verse 29. that the apostle has respect to
adoption in this chain. The fifth is the glorifying of the justified,
which may import the whole of the real change made on the elect,
namely, the sanctifying of them here, and glorifying of them here-
after. For what is grace but glory in the bud, and glory but grace
brought to perfection ? and therefore believers, ' with open face be-
holding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the
same image frorae glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord,'
2 Cor. iii. 18. Thus eflfectual calling, as it rises from eternal love,
so it makes the soul happy here and hereafter.
The text aff"ords this doctrine, viz.
DocT. ' They that are effectually called do thereby partake of great
and glorious benefits and privileges, both in this life and the life
to come.' ^
Here I shall briefly shew,
I. What are those benefits which they who are effectually called
partake of in this life.
II. The benefits they partake of in the life to come.
III. Apply.
I. I shall shew what are those benefits which they that are effec-
tually called partake of in this life.
First, There are three leading benefits which they partake of here.
1. They are all justified. So says the text. As soon as ever the
soul answers the call of the gospel, and comes to Christ, the man is
brought out of a state of condemnation, and gets his absolviture,
Kom. viii. 1. He lives not a moment longer under the black cloud
OF THE BENEFITS OF EFFECTUAL CALLING. 577
of the curse, but is translated into another climate, -where he lives
under the sunshine of the blessing. His sins are all pardoned, and
he is accepted as a righteous man. He is judged, and he gets the
white stone. Rev. ii. 17- The law and justice have no more to de-
mand of him ; the cords of guilt are loosed and thrown away, and
he is clothed with a perfect righteousness.
2. They are all adopted children of God, Eph. i. 5. They get not
only the white stone, but the new name, the name of sons and
daughters to God. They are brought out of the devil's family, and
made members of the household of faith : not servants only, but
sons. For the moment they answer the call, new blood runs in
their veins ; they are of the blood-royal of heaven ; Christ's Father
is their Father, he is their elder brother ; and the Spirit of his Son
dwells in them, teaching them to cry, Abba, Father. They are of
the same household with the excellent of the earth : All ye are bre-
thren ; nay, with tlie saints and angels in heaven ; for though the
one dwell above, and the other below, they are all but one family,
Eph. iii. 15.
3. They are all sanctified, 1 Cor. i. 30. 1 Thess. iv. 7- It is a
holy calling, 2 Tim. i. 9. The author of it is holy, the means are
holy, and the end and effect of it must needs be holy. As soon as
the sinner answers the call, the Spirit of sanctification goes on with
the begun work in him, breaks the reigning power of sin, gives it a
deadly blow, so tliat it shall never recover, but languish on, till it
quite die out. He adorns him with all saving graces, conforming
the sinner to the image of Christ, John i. 16 ; so that he begins to
lead a new life, living to the Lord and his service. The call brings
him, like Lazarus, out of the congregation of the dead, and then the
remainder of his life is spent in putting off the grave-cloths of sin,
and acting from a principle of spiritual life.
Secondly, There are other benefits which accompany or flow from
these. For these come not alone, but each of them is the opening
of a treasure to the called, the striking up of a fountain, that runs
out in many streams, Eph. i. 3. Some of these are mentioned in
that question, ' What are the benefits which in this life do accom-
pany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification ?' Arts.
— ' Assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy
Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end.' But
who can reckon up all these benefits ? For ' all things are theirs ;
whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or deatli,
or things present, or things to come ; all are theirs,' 1 Cor. iii. 21,
22. I shall only at present single out the following.
1. Reconciliation with God, Rom. v. 1. ' Being justified by faitli,
578 OF THK BENEFITS OF EFFECTUAL CALLINO.
we have peace with Go<l.' When the sinner is effectually called,
the real enmity is taken away, and the legal enmity is removed by
justification. God and the sinner become friends, and are firmly so
in a covenant of peace, having common friends and enemies. Sin
being removed and pardoned, the peace follows of course. The war
is ended; for the tre.ity of peace proposed by the ambassadors of
peace is complied with. But of this I spoke when treating of
Christ's priestly office.
2. Access to God, as children to a Father, Eph. iii. 12. as one
friend to another. The war being ended, and peace concluded, the
communication betwixt heaven and earth is opened. They may ex-
port thither all their wants, petitions, and requests, being sure that
they will be taken oft' their hands ; and import supplies of all kiuds
necessary, to make them happy, light, life, strength, &c.
3. Freedom from the slavery of sin and Satan, John viii. 32.
They that are sanctified by the Spirit, are loosed from the Egyptian
bondage, and made the Lord's free-men. Though Satan and sin
molest them, and put them hard to it, they shall never get them
back again into their former house of bondage. But they shall,
like a dog snarling at the horses heels, be bruised under their feet
at length ; and the soul shall be more than conqueror.
4. Lastly, A right to eternal life. Bora. viii. 17- Acts xx. 32,
They may claim it in their head Christ, and their title is good and
sure in him ; for it is a heavenly calling, Avhereby they are called
to the eternal inheritance. And therefore says the apostle, 2 Cor.
v. 1. ' We know, that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were
dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens.'
II. I shall shew what benefits they that are effectually called par-
take of in the life to come. The advantages of effectual calling are
great in this life, but they do not stop there, when a man must
leave all temporal benefits, which he enjoys any manner of way
here in this world, he will enter tO the full enjoyment of the bene-
fits coming by his answering the gospel-call. These are compre-
hended in one word, glorification, which will fall in afterwards to
be treated of. In a word, at death the converted soul is received
into heaven ; at the last day his body Avill be gloriously raised, and
both soul and body made perfectly happy for ever, 2 Thess. ii. 14.
I come now to make some practical improvement of this subject.
Use I. Of information. This doctrine lets us see,
1. That the gospel is the best news that ever was heard in the
world, and the most excellent offer that ever was made to poor sin-
ners, Eph. iii. 8. Thei*e are many to court the soul ; Satan makes
OF TITE BENEFITS OF EFFECTUAL CALLING. 579
his offers, the world its offers, and sin has its offers too. But all
that they offer will not tell far, it perishes in the using, at most it
cannot reach heyond this life. But Christ's offer in the gospel is of
the best of things here, and the best of all hereafter, that we may
enter to the enjoyment of, when nothing remains but the bitter
dregs of the offers of sin, Satan, and the world.
2. God deals very liberally and kindly with his people that an-
swer his call. He docs not put an empty spoon into their mouths, he
sets them not down to bare commons ; they get much in hand, and
yet far more in hope, Psal. Ixxxiv. 11. Their present possessions
are far more valuable than crowns and sceptres in the world; but
what they have a title to, is what eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
nor has it entered into the heart of man to conceive. And then all
is firm and sure ; they can never be shaken out of their privileges,
Rom. xi. 29. Heb. xii. 28.
3. Whatever men lose by complying with and following the gos-
pel-call, they are gainers, Phil. iii. 8. He was a wise merchant
that sold all to buy the pearl of great price. They are wise indeed
that are wise for their souls ; and they are so that come to Christ
on his call ; while all the neglectors of the great salvation, gain
what they will otherwise, do lose a talent A?hile they gain a mite,
losing their own souls, which loss can never be made up.
Use II. Of exhortation.
First, To unconverted sinners. 0 comply with the gospel-call at
length, and come away to Christ. I offer a few motives to press the
exhortation.
3Iot. 1. While ye do not come away upon the call, ye have no
part or lot in these benefits. If ye presume to apply them to your-
selves, God's word knocks off your fingers from them, for they are
the peculiar privilege of those that are eftectually called. And,
1. Ye are not justified, the sentence of condemnation is standing
in force against you. Gal. iii. 10. John iii. ult. And as sure as
God's word cannot fail, it will be executed, if ye come not in in time.
Every sin deserves God's wrath and curse ; all that thou dost is sin.
But not one of all thy sins is pardoned; they are all wreathed
about thy neck, and thou hast them all to reckon for. And thou
hast not a cautioner to go between justice and theo ; the burden
must lie on thy own back.
2. Ye are none of God's children, but of the devil's, John viii. 44.
Ye are still of the family ye were born of. A sad family, against
whicli God will have war for ever. Ye can have no access to God,
nor communion with him, nor may any of the privileges of the chil-
dren of God be claimed by you. Your inheritance is suitable to the
580 OF TirE BEN^EFITS OF EFFECTUAL CALLING.
family ye are of, namely, that ye are cliildren of wrath, and heirs
of hell/
3. Ye are not sanctified. There is no sanctification without the
Spirit of Christ dwelling in you; ye have not Christ's Spirit, for ye
are none of his. A form of godliness ye may have, but the power
of it ye are strangers to. Ye are Satan's drudges and sin's slaves,
though all are not employed in alike coarse work by the master of
that family, Eph. ii. 2, 3,
Mot. 2. If ye will come to Christ on his call, ye shall partake of
all these benefits. If your sins were never so great and many, they
shall be pardoned, Isa. Iv. 7- Ye shall be the children of God
through Jesus Christ, John i. 12. Ye shall be made holy, 1 Cor. vi.
11. Come in under the covert of his blood, and then neither law
nor justice shall reach you. Match with the Son of God, and ye
shall be of his Father's family. Answer his call, and he will break
the yoke from off your necks, and make you free.
0. Sirs, do not ye need this benefits ? How will ye live without
them ? are ye able to bear the weight of unpardoned guilt ? IIow
Avill ye die without them ? What will it be to die in an unpardoned
state, strangers to the family of heaven, and still in your sins ?
May not these glorious privileges prevail with you ? Do ye think
nothing of the white stone and new name, which ye may get by
coming to Christ ? Seemeth it a light thing to you to i)e adopted
into the family of the King of heaven, and to have his image drawn
on you? Think with yourselves how it will aggravate your con-
demnation, that Christ and all his salvation was in your offer, and
ye would have none of him, Heb. ii. 3.
Secondly, To converted sinners that have answered the call.
1. Labour to know your great privileges for time and eternity,
2 Pet. i. 10. 0 ! it is a sad matter that the people of God should
have so little knowledge of their state. This would be a notable
means to promote sanctification, and tenderness in heart and life.
2. Be thankful for these privileges. Bless God for Christ and
the gospel. 0 bless him for his holy and powerful Spirit. Admire
and adore his rich grace, bestowed on worthless worms through
Christ, 1 John iii. 1.
3. Lastly, Walk worthy of the vocation, and suitable to the pri-
vileges of it, that is, humbly, holily, heavenly, contentedly pa-
tiently, and cheerfully, in hopes of the glory that is to be revealed.
OF JUSTIFICATION^. 581
OF JUSTIFICATIOJf.
Romans iii. 24. — Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemp-
tion that is in Christ Jesus.
The first of those benefits which the called do partake of is justifica-
tion, which is the great relative change made upon them, bringing
them out of the state of condemnation, wherein they are born, and
live till they come to Christ. In the text we have,
1. The persons justified, sinners, viz. believing in Christ. It is
the justification of a sinner that the apostle speaks of, as is implied
in the connection, ver. 23, 24. ' For all have sinned, and come short
of the glory of God : being justified freely by his grace ; but believing,
ver. 26. — the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.'
2. The party justifying, God the judge of all, his grace. It is
God's act to justify a sinner.
3. The manner and moving cause, freely by his grace. It is done
freely, without any thing of ours done by us to procure or merit it ;
and it flows from God's grace or free favour to undeserving and ill
deserving creatures.
4. The material and meritorious cause, the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus. He has paid the price and ransom whereby the sinner
is set free.
The text affords this great and important doctrinal note, viz.
DocT. ' The justification of a sinner before God is of free grace,
through the satisfaction of Christ.
In discoursing from this subject I shall shew,
I. What it is to justify a sinner, in general, in the scriptural
sense.
II. "What are the parts of justification.
III. The cause of our justification.
lY. Apply the subject.
1. I shall shew what it is to justify a sinner, in general, in the
scripture-sense. Justification and sanctification are indeed insepar-
able. In vain do they pretend to be justified who are not sancti-
fied ; and in vain do they fear they are not justified, who are sanc-
tified by the Spirit of Christ, 1 Cor. vi. 11. But yet they are dis-
tinct benefits, not to be confuunded, nor taken for one and the same.
Justification is not the making of a person just and righteous, by
infusing grace or holiness unto him. But it is a discharging him
from guilt, and declaring or pronouncing him righteous. So it is a
law-term taken from courts of judicature, wherein a person is ac-
582 OF JUSTIFICATION.
cused, tried, and after trial absolved. Thus the scripture opposeth
it to accusation and condemnation, Eom. viii. 33, 34. * Who shall
lay any thing to the charge of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth :
Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea rather,
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us,' Deut. xxv. 1. ' They shall justify
the righteous, and condemn the wicked.' And so it is declared to
be a sin to justify the wicked, Prov. xvii. 15. not to make them
righteous, but to pronounce them righteous. Hence it follows, that,
1. Justification is not a real change of the sinner's nature, but a
relative change of his state. The change of the sinner's nature,
from sin to holiness, is inseparably annexed to it : but it is only the
bringing him out of the state of condemnation, and setting him be-
yond the reach of the law, as a righteous person, which is an un-
speakable benefit.
2. Justification is an act done and passed in an instant in the
court of heaven, as soon as the sinner believes in Christ ; and not a
work carried on by degrees. For if a sinner be not perfectly justi-
fied, he is not justified at all. If a man were accused of ten capital
crimes, if one of them be fixed upon him, he is condemned, and must
die. And hence also, though one may be more sanctified than an-
other, yet no believer is in the sight of God more justified than an-
other, since the state of justification is not capable of degrees.
II. I proceed to shew what are the parts of justification.
These are two, the pardoning of sin, and the accepting of the sin-
ner's person as righteous. This double benefit is conferred on the
sinner in justification. That we may the more clearly take up this
matter, we must view the process of a sinner's justification. And
here.
First, God himself sits Judge in this process, Psal. ix. 4. ' Thou
sattest in the throne judging right.' He gave the law; and as he
is the Lawgiver, so he is the Judge of all the earth. Men may jus-
tify themselves, Luke x. 29. and others may justify them : but what
does it avail, if God do not justify them ? for only he has the autho-
rity and power to do it, Rom. viii. 33. ' It is God that justifieth.'
Many a man looking overly into his own state and case, passes a
very favourable sentence on himself, and his way may be so blame-
less before the world, that others must judge him a righteous man
too ; but the judgment of God comes after, and reverses all. And
he only can justify authoritatively and irreversibly. For,
1. He only is the Lawgiver, and he only has power to save or to
destroy, and therefore the judgment must be left to him. Jam. iv.
12. The case concerns his honour and law, and must be tried at his
OF .TUSTlFIOATIOIf. 583
tribunal ; and whoever takes it in hand, he will call it to his own
bar.
2. To him the debt is owing, and therefore he only can give the
discharge. Against him the crime is committed, and he only can
pardon it. Accept us as righteous who will, if he do it not, who
gave the law of righteousness, it is nothing, Mark ii. 7-
Secondlt/, The sinner is cited to answer before God's judgment-
seat, by the messengers of God, the ministers of the gospel, Mai. iii.
1. Every sermon an unconverted sinner hears, is a summons put
into his hand to answer for his living in a state and course of sin.
He is told he has broken God's law, and he must go to God and see
what he will answer, and what course he will take with his debt.
But, alas ! for the most part sinners are so secure, that they sit the
summons, slight it, and will not appear.
But that is not all. Some keep themselves out of the messenger's
way; either they will not come at all, or very seldom to the public
assemblies where the summons is given, Heb. x. 25. But the leav-
ing of the summons there will hold in law before him that sends
them, and the dust of the messenger's feet will be sufficient witness
to the execution. Matt. x. 14. Some never read the summons, they
never once seriously consider or apply to themselves the word
preached. They hear it as if they heard it not, it never sinks into
their hearts. Others tear the summons in pieces ; their hearts, like
Ahab in the case of Micaiah, rise against the word and the bearer
of it, and they hate both, as speaking no good of them. Some af-
front the messengers, and sometimes lay violent hands on them,
]\[atth. xxii. 6. And thus some sit the summons all their days, and
never appear till death bring them under his black rod, before the
tribunal in another Avorld, where there is no access to justification
or pardon. But God suffers none of his elect to do so always.
T/tirdh/, The Lord the Judge sends out other messengers, and
they apprehend the sinner, lay hands on him to carry him, whether
he will or not, before the judgment-seat, and oblige him to abide his
trial. And these are two, the Spirit of bondage, and an awakened
conscience, John xvi. 8, 9. Prov. xx. 27. These will catch the man,
and hunt him till they find him out, when they have got their order,
Jer. ii. 27. They apprehended Paul when going to Damascus, and
left him not till he appeared, and submitted himself.
But it is not always so. Some that are apprehended get out of
the messenger's hands, and make their escape unhappily. When
they are catched, they are uninily i^risoners, they struggle and
wrestle, and strive against the Spirit, and their own consciences,
Acts vii. 51. they go no fartlicr Avith them than they are dragged
584 OF JUSTIFICATION.
They get the mastery at length over their conscience, break its
bonds, and stifle its convictions, and so grieve and quench the Spirit,
that they get away to their own ruin; like Cain, Saul, Felix, &:c.
But none of God's elect ever get away altogether.
Fourthh/, Then the elect soul is infallibly sisted at length before
the judgment-seat. The Spirit of bondage and the awakened con-
science apprehend him afresh, and bring their prisoner in chains of
guilt unto the bar trembling, and he can escape the trial no longer,
before a holy God, Acts xvi. 29, 30. Then what fear, sorrow and
anxiety, seize the prisoner's soul, while he sees a just Judge on the
throne, a strict and severe law laid before him, and he has a guilty
conscience within ! And he must undergo a trial for his life, not
the life of the body only, but of soul and body for evermore. These
things may seem idle tales to some ; but if ye have not experienced
the reality of them, ye shall do it, or dreadful shall the judgment
after death be to you.
Fifthly, Then the indictment, or criminal libel, is read in the ears
of the trembling sinner before the Judge, and that by the law,
which manages the accusation so as the pannel shall stand speech-
less, Rom. iii. 10 — 19. Every one of the ten commands accuse him
of innumerable evils and transgressions. His omissions and com-
missions are laid in broadband before him ; his sins of heart, lip
and life, and the sin of his nature, are all charged upon him, and
that with their several aggravations. And sentence is demanded
against the pannel, according to justice, and agreeable to the law.
Gal. iii. 10. ' Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things
which are written in the book of the law to do them.'
Siivthli/, Then the sinner must plead guilty or not, to the indict-
ment. Indeed, if he were innocent, he might plead not guilty, deny
the libel, and thereupon he would be justified. But, alas ! this plea
is not for us poor sinners. For, (1.) It is utterly false, Rom. iii.
10. Eccl. vii. 20. Jam, iii. 2. And, (2.) Falsehood can never bear
out before God's judgment-seat. There is no want of evidence to
prove all. Conscience within is as a thousand witnesses, and will
testify against the sinner. The Judge is omniscient, and there is no
concealing of our crimes from him. Therefore this plea will not do,
Rom. iii. 20. The sinner then must needs plead guilty, confess the
libel, and every article of it, acknowledge the debt, and every
article of it, though he is utterly unable to pay, Rom. iii. 19.
Seventhly, The sinner being convicted by his own confession as
guilty, is put to it to plead, "What he has to say why the sentence of
death eternal should not pass against him, according to law and
justice, and Avhy he should not be hauled from the judgment-seat to
OF JUSTIFICATION-. 585
execution. Here, what shall he plead at this awful period of time,
where his state for eternity is just upon the turning point? Shall
he plead mercy for mere mercy's sake, casting liimself down at the
Judge's feet ? Justice interposes betwixt mercy and the sinner, and
pleads that the Judge of all the earth must do right, that he cannot
prostitute his honour for the safety of rebels, but must magnify the
law, and make it honourable. The truth of God interposes, and
says, the word is already gone out of the Judge's mouth, and must
be accomplished. That without shedding of blood there is no re-
mission. Whither shall the sinner turn now? Can the saints
help ? No ; they cannot spare any of their oil. Can angels do no-
tliing ? No ; their united stock would not be sufficient to clear the
debt. The sinner then must die the death, and sink under his own
burden, if help come not from another quarter. So,
Eighthly, The formerly despised Mediator, the great Advocate at
this court, who takes the desperate causes of sinners in hand, and
expedites them, offers himself now, in this extremity, to the sinner,
with his perfect righteousness, and all his salvation. The sinner
embraces him with heart and good-will, enters into the covenant, by
faith lays hold on him, renounces all other claims, and betakes him-
self to his alone merits and suretyship. Now is the sinner united to
Christ, and by virtue of that union has communion with him, par-
ticularly in his righteousness, and so stands before God in the white
raiment of the Mediator's righteousness. Now has the sinner a plea
that Avill infallibly bring him off.
He pleads, he is guilty indeed ; yet he must not die, for Christ
has died for him. The debt was a just debt; but the Cautioner has
paid it, and therefore he craves up his discharge. The law's de-
mands were just ; but they are all answered already, both as to
doing and suffering. The soul is now married to Christ ; and there-
fore, if the law or justice want any thing, they must seek it of the
Husband, and not of her, seeing the soul is thereby put under
covert. Therefore the convicted believing sinner gets in under the
covert of the Mediator's blood, which stands open in that court ; and
tlierc stands and pleads against all that law or justice can demand,
that he must not die, but be graciously acquitted.
Lastly, Hereupon God the great Judge sustaining the plea passes
the sentence of justification on the sinner, according to the ever-
lasting agreement that passed betwixt the Father and the Son, Isa.
liii. 11. The pannel gets the white stone and new name, and so is
for ever set beyond the reach of condemnation, Rom. viii. 1. This
is excellently described by Elihu, Job xxxiii. 22, 23, 24. ' Yea, his
soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers, \i
2p
586 OP JUSTIFICATION.
there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thou-
sand, to shew unto man his uprightness : Then he is gracious unto
him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have
found a ransom.' This great benefit consists of two parts, as I ob-
served before.
FIRST, The pardon of sin, Acts xiii. 38, 39. ' Through this man
is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins : And by him all that
believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be
justified by the law of Moses.' The sinner having this act of grace
passed in his favour, is fully indemnified as to all crimes committed
by him against the honour and law of the King of heaven, so as
they shall never be charged upon him any more. Here I shall
shew,
1. What pardon is.
2. The properties of it.
3. Its many sweet names, that discover the nature of it.
First, I shall shew what j)ardon is. It is not the taking away
the nature of sin, pardoned sin is still sin ; God justifies the sinner,
but will never justify his sin. Nor is it the removing of the in-
trinsic demerit of sin; it still deserves condemnation, though it
shall never actually condemn the sinner, Rom. viii. 1. Nor is it a
simple delay of the punishment, a reprieve is no pardon.
There are four things to be considered in sin. (1.) The reigning
power of it, which is broken in regeneration and sanctification,
Rom. vi. 14. (2.) The blot and stain, which is taken away in the
gradual advances of sanctification, 1 Cor. vi. 11. (3.) The in-
dwelling power, which is removed in glorification, Heb. xii. 23.
(4.) The guilt, which is taken away in pardon.
Gruilt is an obligation to punishment. The guilt of an unjustified
sinner is an obligation lying upon his head, to bear the wrath and
eternal vengeance of God, to satisfy justice for the breaking of his
law. It is a bond binding him to go to the prison of hell, and lie
there till he hath paid the utmost farthing of his debt of sin,
2 Thess. i. 9. It arises from the sanction of the law. Gen. ii. 17. So
that the sinner, like Shimei, having broke his confinement, is a man
of death.
Pardon is the taking away of this guilt, this dreadful obligation.
"While the criminal stands boiind with the cords of guilt for execu-
tion, a pardoning God says, ' Deliver his soul from going down to
the pit, I have found a ransom, Job xxxiii. 24. Pardon cuts the
knot, whereby guilt ties sin and wrath together, cancels the bond
obliging the sinner to pay his debt, reverses the sentence of con-
demnation, and puts him out of the law's reach.
OF JUSTIFICATION. 587
Secondly, I am to shew the properties of this pardon. — These are
chiefly three. It is,
1. Full : Micah vii. 19. ' Thou ■will cast all their sins into the
depths of the sea.' Col. ii. 13. — ' Having forgiven you all tres-
passes.' All the man's sins are pardoned together. God gives no
half-pardons ; it suits not either the riches of his grace, nor the sin-
ner's necessity. iFov one leak will sink the ship, and so will one
unpardoned sin damn the soul. Great and small sins, sins against
the gospel and the law, the most and least heinous, in the happy
hour of pardon, sink down all together into the sea of the Re-
deemer's blood, Jer. 1. 20. And every sin is fully pardoned.
As to the question. Whether all sins, jiast, present, and to come,
are pardoned together and at once in justification ? As to sins past
and present, there is no difficulty, they are all at once pardoned.
As to sins to come, a justified person, being in Christ, can never
more incur the guilt of eternal wrath, but only the guilt of fatherly
chastisements, so that the pardon before described needs never be
renewed. And the only pardon a justified person has to seek
is that of the guilt of fatherly anger with the intimation of the
other pardon. For if a justified person could ever again be liable
actually to the eternal wrath of God for his sin, then either he
must fall from his nnion with Christ, which is indissoluble, or he
may be in Christ, and yet under condemnation, Rom. viii. 1. Be-
sides, a person once in Christ is no more under the dominion of the
law, and therefore cannot be under its curse, Rom. vi. 14. and
vii. 4*.
2. Free: So says the text. Being justified freely, Col. ii. 13. It is
free to us, though to Christ it was the price of blood. What have
we to give for a pardon ? Could we weep as many tears as the sea
has drops, afflict ourselves as many years as the world has stood
minutes, it would not buy a pardon, since it is not infinite, Psal.
xliv. 8. Our best duties are but rags, and cannot cover the raen-
struous rags, and would but cover one unclean thing with another ;
the sins of our unrighteousness with the sins of our righteousness.
The sinner never pays for it, nor can pay for it, Isa. xliii. 24, 25.
3. Unalterable and irrevocable. Temporal mercies are lent, but
pardon is given ; it is a grace-gift, (Rom. xi. 29.), that God never
repents of bestowing. When God writes a sinner's pardon, who-
ever quarrel it, conscience, Satan, &c. God says, What I have
written, I have written. Come after what will, it must stand for
ever. No following misdemeanors can take it off, Jer. xxxi. 34. ' I
* See the author's Miscellaneous Questions, quest. 2.
2r2
588 OP JUSTIFICATION".
will forget their iniquity, and I "will remember their sin no more.'
Isa. liv. 9. — ' I have sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor
rebuke thee, &c. A child of God may lose the sense of his pardon,
but the pardon itself is written in the Mediator's blood, and so is
one of those same mercies mentioned, Isa. Iv. 3.
Thirdly, Farther to shew the nature of pardon of sin, it has many
sweet names, discovering its nature. And,
1. It is a blotting out of sin : ' I, even I,' says Jehovah, ' am he
that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake,' Isa. xliii. 25.
This is an allusion to a creditor, who, when he discharges a debt,
scores it out of his count-book. Sin is a debt, the worst of debts.
We cannot pay it, we cannot escape the hands of our creditor.
And, alas ! we are ready to deny our debt, will not come to count
and reckoning, as long as we can get it shifted. So the debt stands
in God's book. But the sinner being apprehended, as said is, he is
brought to count and reckoning. God produces the large account.
The sinner's heart falls at the sight; he falls down, confesses his
debt, and his inability to pay, flies to the great Cautioner, saying,
' Undertake for me,' — Psal. cxix. 122 ; and Christ says. All thy
wants be upon me. Then God takes the pen, dips it in the Media-
tor's blood, and cross-scores all the sinner's account, Acts iii. 19.
Col. ii. 14.
2. A not imputing of sin, Psal. xxxii. 2, ' Blessed is the man unto
whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity.' This is a metaphor from
merchants, who, when a rich friend undertakes for one of their poor
debtors, charge their accounts no more upon him ; they will seek
him no more for it. God took Christ's single bond for the debt of
all that would put themselves in Christ's poor roll by faith. So as
soon as a sinner comes to Christ by faith, and gives in his name as
a broken man unable to pay his debt, accepting of Christ as Cau-
tioner, God imputes sin no more to that man. "What accounts have
been taken on by the sinner, he leaves the Son to clear with his Fa-
ther. This is sustained in the court of heaven : the Creditor and
the Cautioner take the matter between them, and the debt is charged
no more on the sinner.
3. A taking of the burden of sin from off the sinner, Psal. xxxii.
1. Hos. xiv. 2. Sin is a heavy burden, a burden increasing every
day, to the unpardoned sinner. It sunk down the angels from
their first habitation, and is a weight that they and the damned in
hell are wrestling under at this day, but unable to get it ofi". The
unawakened sinner finds it not ; but when the conscience is awa-
kened, it burdens the sinner all over ; it is a burden on his head,
on his spirit, on his back. In the day of pardon, the sinner falls
OF JUSTIFICATION. 589
down under his burden, looks to Christ the great Burden-bearer,
and God comes and takes his burden off his back, and bids him
stand upright. And none else can do it, Numb. xiv. 17, 18, 19.
4. A washing of the sinner, 1 Cor. vi. 11. 'But ye are washed.'
They that have unpardoned guilt on them, they have not only a
heavy, but a foul, filthy burden on them. — And they must be washed
and thoroughly washed, for it sticks closely to the soul, Psal. li, 2.
' Wash mo thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my
sin.' Hence the Lord offers, Isa. i. 18. ' Come now, and let us rea-
son together, saith the Lord : though your sins be as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow ; though they be red like crimson, they
shall be as wool.' In the day of pardon, the Lord sprinkles the
sinner with the Mediator's blood, and he is made clean, yea dips
him in that fountain, Zech. xiii. 1 ; and he is purged and purified
from all sin, 1 John i. 7-
5. A dismissing or remission of sin, Matth. vi. 12. Eom. iii. 25.
God does not only take it away, but sends it away. The sinner's
guilt is laid over on Christ, as the scape-goat who bears it away
never to return on the sinner. Sin is a strong tie, whereby the sin-
ner is bound down to the pit, so as he cannot lift up his head to the
Lord with true confidence. Pardon brings a relaxation to the sin-
ner, cutting asunder these cords of death. It is a sending sin,
away from the sinner, back to the devil from whence it came.
6. The dispelling of a thick cloud, Isa. xliv. 22. Sin is a cloud
rising from below : a watery cloud, a black cloud, a thick cloud :
which once drowned the whole world, except those in the ark. It
hangs night and day over the head of the unpardoned sinner, go
where he will. He cannot see the face of God through it ; it vails
his mercy, wraps him up in blackness of darkness, that he can have
no communion with heaven. But pardon, like the shining sun,
breaks through the cloud, and dissolves it ; and like a mighty wind,
there is a breathing from the throne of grace, that rends the cloud
and scatters it, be it never so thick ; so that all the sinner's guilt
as a cloud vanishes away, and appears no more. Thus the soul is
restored to the light of God's countenance, and may look up with
confidence and joy. Job xxxiii. 2-1, 26.
7. A casting of sin behind the Lord's back, Isa. xxxviii. 17- Da-
vid says, * his sin was ever before him,' Psal. li. 4. before him as the
accuser stood before the accused face to face. Praying for pardon,
he prays God would hide his face from it, Psal. li. 9. A pardoning
God will not look on the sin of the sinner that is in Christ, Numb,
xxiii. 21. 'He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath ho
seen perverseness in Israel.' The Lord sitting on a throne of grace,
2r3
590 OP JUSTIFICATION.
to which the believer carries his process from the throne of strict
justice, when Satan gives in his bill or libel against the believer,
takes it and casts it away behind his back, as not to look on it, nor
charge him with it.
8. A casting it into the depths of the sea, Mic. vii. 19. — 0 the
fulness of that expression ! He will not cast them into a brook or
river, what falls in there may be got up again perhaps ; but into the
sea, where we reckon a thing dead that falls. But there are some
shallow places in the sea ; he will cast them into the depths of the
sea, these devouring depths. But what if they sink not ? he will
cast them in with force and power, that they shall go to the ground,
and sink as lead in the ocean of the blood of Christ.
9. A covering of sin, Psal. xxxii. 1. This is an allusion to what
the Lord commanded the Israelites in their camp in the wilderness,
Deut. xxiii. 14. It is the same word in the Hebrew. It is a cover-
ing of it so as to hide it, that it shall not appear. Sin is the worst
of pollutions, but a pardon spreads a cover over it, that it shall not
appear any more. God condemned sin in the ftesh of Christ, Rom.
viii. 3. and therefore, as soon as the soul takes hold of Christ, the
word of pardon goes out of the King's mouth, and sin, like the face
of Haman, in such a case, is covered never to see the light any
more.
10. Lastly, Which crowns all, a not remembering of sin, Jer.
xxxi. 34. What can be said more to shew the fulness of pardon ?
Many forgive, but they will never forget the offences done them :
but our God, when he pardons, not only forgives, but as it were for-
gets the injury done to his glory by the sinner. It is true, God's
perfections cannot admit a proper forgetting ; but the believer's sins
are forgotten in law ; there is an irreversible act of oblivion passed
ujjon them all in the court of heaven ; and God will not only not
exact the punishment of them, but will treat believers as kindly as
if they had never offended him. Looking on them through Christ,
he beholds them without spot.
Behold the way to be secured against sin's finding you out in
wrath. 0 unspeakable benefit ! Well may we sing and say with
David, Psal. xxxii. 1, 2. ' Blessed is he whose transgression is for-
given, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the
Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.'
SECONDLY, The acceptation of the person as righteous in the
sight of God. God justifying a sinner does not only pardon his
sin, but accepts and accounts his person righteous in his sight,
2 Cor. V. 21. ' He hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.' Rom. iv.
OF JUSTIFICATION. 591
6. ' Even as David describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom
Grod imputeth righteousness without works.' Chap. v. 19. ' By the
obedience of one shall many be made righteous.' This is the import
of justifying, namely, a declaring, accepting, or accounting one
righteous, as one who being pursued before a court, gets his absol-
viture, and is declared an honest man in the point wherewith he was
charged. There is a twofold acceptation in point of righteousness
here to be carefully distinguished.
1. An acceptation of a man's works as righteous. 2. Of his per-
son. All righteousness is a conformity to a law. Whatsoever
comes up to what the law demands, is righteous ; and what doth not
is unrighteous. God hath given unto man a law, viz. the moral law,
which is the eternal rule of righteousness, that never changes. So
all righteousness in the sight of God is a conformity unto that law.
And there is no conformity to the law, but what is so in all points.
So that righteousness is a perfect conformity to the ten commands
in full obedience. Now, there is,
1. An acceptation of a man's works as righteous. Gal. iii. 12.
' The man that doth them shall live in them.' He that doth his
works in a full conformity to the law, his works shall be accepted
as righteous. But where is the man that can so do ? The man
Chi'ist did so, and his works were accepted as righteous. But since
God's judgment is according to truth, and he cannot account things
to be what really they are not ; and it is evident that even a be-
liever's works are not righteous in the eye of the law ; God neither
doth nor can, in the justifying of a sinner, accept and account his
works as righteous. So that this acceptation has no place in our
justification. And though some of a believer's works, namely, his
good works, are accepted of God, Dent, xxxiii. 11. Isa. Ivi. 7- yet
that is not in point of justification, but of sanctification ; not as
righteous, but as sincere tokens of their love to God, as the father ac-
cepts the work of his child, though it be not quite right, 2 Cor. viii. 12.
2. An acceptation of a man's person as righteous, Eph. i. 6. —
' Hath made us accepted in the Beloved.' Tliis may be done with-
out any eye to a work done by the man himself. If a man were
processed for a debt he really took on, and which he never paid in
his own person, yet if he can produce the discharge of the debt given
to one that paid it for him, he will be absolved and the law will
declare him to be owing nothing to the pursuer. Thus his person
is accepted as righteous ; and thus the believer is accepted as a
righteous person in justification, though his works are not.
To be accepted as righteous, then, is to be accounted conformable
to the law, a person of whom the law has what it requires, and of
592 of JUSTIFICATION.
Wliom it has no more to demand. Its demands are extremely high ;
universal, perfect, and uninterrupted obedience. But the believer,
when he is justified, is accepted, as one in respect of whom the debt
is paid to the uttermost farthing, Rom. iii. ult. and x. 4. Col. ii. 10.
This is an unspeakable benefit ; for thereby,
(1.) The bar in the way of abounding mercy is taken away, so
that the rivers of compassion may flow towards the believer, Rom.
V. 1. &c. Job xxxiii. 24, &c. Many look confidently for the mercy
of Grod, that will be disappointed ; the unsatisfied law will draw a
bar between them, and lock up saving mercy under the bars of
Grod's justice and truth, which cannot be broken. But the believer
being accepted as righteous, the law's mouth is stopt, justice and
truth have nothing to object against mercy's flowing to them.
(2.) The person is by this means adjudged to eternal life, even
agreeably to the constitution of the law, 2 Thess. i. 6, 7- Acts xxvi.
18. Life was promised in the first covenant upon the fulfilling of
the law. Now, the law having all it can demand of the believer, it
is very agreeable thereto, that he be adjudged to everlasting life.
Thus what sets salvation far from unbelievers, contributes to the
believer's security. As if two men had been bound severally in one
tack, and both desire to go away at a certain time, the conditions
are fulfilled for the one, but not for the other. The tack that se-
cures the one's liberty, will hold the other fast ; till the conditions
be fulfilled, he cannot go. So all men were bound in the covenant
of works to yield perfect obedience ; but having failed, Christ sub-
stituted himself in the room of those chosen from among them to
everlasting life, and gave complete obedience to the law in their
name and place ; on that account they are accepted and adjudged
to eternal life, and that agreeably to the law, which has got all its
demands of them in their Surety. But the rest being still under
the law, must perish.
(3.) The accusations of Satan and the clamours of an evil con-
science are hereby to be stilled. See how the apostle triumphs over
and bids a defiance to all the believer's accusers, Rom. viii. 33, 34.
' Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect ? It is God
that justifieth : who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died,
yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right-hand of
God, who also maketh intercession for us.' God's sentence of justi-
fication may be opposed to the condemnation that one may be laid
under from devils and men. He that has the discharge of the debt
in his pocket, needs not fear what any can say or do unto him on
account of the debt.
(4.) Lastly, He needs not seek acceptance of his person with God
OP JUSTIFICATION. 593
by his works, for he has it already another way. This is the way
hypocrites take for acceptance, that will not come to Christ. But,
alas ! they do not consider that they are labouring in vain ; it is
impossible to get it that way, Rom. ix. 30, 31, 32. ' "What shall we
say then ? That the Gentiles which followed not after righteous-
ness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is
of faith : but Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness,
hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore ? Be-
cause they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the
law ; for they stumbled at that stumbling-stone.' It is one of the
main differences betwixt the two covenants. In the first, man's
works were to be accepted, and then his person ; but in the second,
first his person is accepted, and then his works. In the first, God
dealt with man as a master with his servant, who pleases him just
as he works his work ; in the second, as a father with his child,
who pleases his father as he is his own child, and so his work is ta-
ken off his hand, such as it is. So they that seek acceptance with
God by their works, go quite contrary to the nature of the covenant
of grace, and hold on the way of the covenant of works, in which
one will never thrive now. But the believer is not required to seek
acceptance with God in this fruitless way. So far of the parts of
justification.
III. The next general head is to shew the cause of our justifica-
tion, namely, the meritorious, or procuring or material cause of it.
"When we consider what the justification of a sinner is, well may we
with wonder cry out, How can these things be ! How can a guilty
sinner be pardoned by a just and jealous God ! an unrighteous one
accepted as righteous, by an infinitely perfect judge ! We see in
the world, among men, such a thing brought to pass by several
means.
1. By the powerfulness of the guilty party, that the judge dare
not but let them go free. Some men are so unhappy for themselves
and others as to be too strong for laws, as David complains of Joab
and Abishai, saying, * These men the sons Zeruiah be too hard for
me,' 2 Sam. iii. ult. and their begging a pardon is in eflect the com-
manding of it. But what is worm-man before the omnipotency of
God ! where is he that is able to make head against him, that in his
favour he should ' pervert judgment V Job xxxiv. 12, &c.
2. By the weakness of the judge's understanding, that he cannot
fix guilt on the guilty. Sometimes the crime is so hiddenly com-
mitted, that man cannot say, this is the guilty man. Sometimes,
when the judge is convinced of the party's guilt, yet he can by no
means legally fix it on him, and so there is necessity to pass him.
594 OF JUSTIPTCATIOIT.
But God is omniscient, and can never be at a loss to discover the
guilty person, nor want evidence to fix it upon him, Psalm cxxxix.
7. 1 Sam. ii. 3.
3. By bribes. These blind the eyes of the wise and pervert judg-
ment. But what can we give to God, who have nothing but what is
his? Job xli. 11. His infinite fulness and all-sufficiency sets him
beyond all possibility of afi"ecting him thus. Job xxxvi. 19. And if
we would essay to afl^ect him with our goodness, repentance, or re-
formation, behold he is beyond these too. Job xxxv. 7- ' If thou be
righteous, what givest thou him ? or what receiveth he of thine
hand?'
4. Lastly, By feud or favour prevailing over respect to justice.
But with God there is no respect of persons. All are alike to him.
And he neither despises any, so as not to regard what they do,
which sometimes make some guilty ones get free, Job xxxvi. 5. And
there is no preposterous pity with him in prejudice of justice, as
there is in some men of a too soft disposition, to execute justice,
Psal. xi. 6, 7.
From all which it follows, that there is some just ground upon
which a sinner believing is justified before God. And we must in-
quire what that is.
First, Negatively. It is not upon any worth or merit in the sin-
ner himself. The text rejects that, Being justified freely hy his grace.
We neither are nor can be justified by our inherent righteousness,
or good works. For,
1. Scripture expressly teaches, that we are not nor can be justi-
fied by our own works, but by faith, which leads us to the righteous-
ness of another, Rom. iii. 20, 28. (compare Psal. cxliii. 2.) Gal. ii.
16. All works are excluded without distinction or limitation, and
faith and works are opposed ; the latter being inconsistent with gos-
pel-grace, Rom. xi. 6.
2. The way of a sinner's justification laid down in the gospel ex-
cludes boasting, Rom. iii. 27- But justification by works excludes
it not, ibid, but leaves ground for it, Rom. iv. 2. It is the design
of the gospel to exclude it, Eph. ii. 9. So that that way is opposite
to the design of the gospel.
3. Lastly, All our good works are imperfect, Isa. Ixiv. 6. and they
are mixed with many sinful works. Jam. iii. 2. So that they can
never make a righteousness which is truly and properly so in the
eye of the law. And therefore to declare a man righteous on the
account of them, would be to declare besides the truth. But ' we
are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth,' Rom. ii. 2.
It must be a perfect righteousness on which a person can be justified
OF JUSTIFICATION. 595
before a holy, just God. For tlie relaxation of the gospel is not,
that an imperfect righteousness is accepted instead of a perfect one,
Rom. iii. ult. This perfect righteousness can never be patched up
of our imperfect pieces of obedience.
Nay, suppose we could i>erfectly obey the law from the moment
of our conversion, yea, of our birth, all is due for itself. How
could that satisfy for the sin we were born with, or our sins before
conversion ? Repentance and tears cannot satisfy. "Without shed-
ding of blood there is no remission. And if once the law get down
the sinner to be satisfied of him, how shall he get up again ?
And neither can they contribute so much as in part to justify us.
For, (1.) At that rate the grace of God should be so far excluded,
and some room left for boasting. (2.) The cleanest of our own
robes would effectually ruin us, if not washed in the Lamb's blood.
And (3.) Christ's righteousness is perfect, and not dealt by shreds.
Secondly, Positively. The righteousness of Christ is the pro-
curing cause of our justification. In handling of this, I shall shew,
1. What Christ's righteousness is.
2. That we are justified by Christ's righteousness.
3. What way a sinner can be justified by a righteousness not
wrought by himself, but by Christ.
4. How the justifying of a sinner thus consists with the honour of
God's justice, and of his law.
5. How it consists with fi'ee grace.
First, I shall shew what Christ's righteousness is. There is a
twofold righteousness of Christ. (1.) His essential righteousness,
which he had from eternity as God. This was common to all tho
three persons, and natural ; and therefore cannot be that righte-
ousness of Christ whereby sinners are justified. (2.) His Mediatory
righteousness, peculiar to him as the Father's servant, and tho Me-
diator betwixt God and man. This is it. And that was his con-
formity to the law, in the perfect obedience he gave it, when ho put
his neck under the yoke of the law for an elect world, to satisfy it,
in all that it had to demand of them.
1. He obeyed the commands of it, Phil. ii. 18. All the ten com-
mands in their utmost extent had their due from him, in both
tables. He was born holy, without sin ; he lived without blemish,
being holy, harmless, undefiled, and separated from sinners ; and
was ever doing good. His obedience was universal ; as to all tho
commands, he kept them ; perfect as to every command, in tho de-
grees of it required by the law; constant and perpetual, without tho
least interruption ; and voluntary and unconstrained, in respect of
the principle of heartiness and willingness in it. Tims lie did, as
became him, fulfil all righteousness, Matth. iii. 15.
596 OF JUSTIFICATION.
2. He suffered the penalty of the law, which had been broken,
Phil. ii. 8. The elect's debt was charged upon him completely, and
he answered for it. Then ' he restored that which he took not
away,' Psal. Ixix. 4. Death was the penalty, Gen. ii. 17. And
death in its various shapes seized on him. The forerunners of it
met him at his first entrance into the world, when he was born in a
very low condition, and was forced to be carried into Egypt, to save
him from Herod's bloody hands. They hung about him all the days
of his life, so that he was a man of sorrows, though not of sin. At
length death advanced against him with all its joint forces to-
gether : and heaven, earth, and hell, all set on him together, till
they brought him to the dust of death ; and then he was carried
death's prisoner to the grave, where he lay till it was declared the
debt was paid, and the law had no more to demand.
Thus he conformed himself to the law, and satisfied it in all
points. And this was his righteousness, and that very righteous-
ness upon which every believing sinner is justified, as a debtor is
absolved from the creditor's libel of debt, seeing the debt is paid by
a cautioner.
Secondly, I shall shew that we are justified by the righteousness
of Christ.
1. This is the plain doctrine of the scriptures of the Old Testa-
ment, where he is called ' our righteousness,' Jer. xxiii. 6. See Isa.
xlv. 24, 25. The apostle, 1 Cor. i. 30. tells us, that he is 'made
righteousness to us,' not by affecting our righteousness, as he is our
sanctification, for then justification and sanctification should be one
and the same ; but by imputation. And 2 Cor. v. 21. ' "We are
made the righteousness of Grod in him.' This was the only righte-
ousness Paul desired to shelter himself under, Phil. iii. 9. In a
word, he is the second Adam, Rom. v. 18, 19. ' Therefore as by the
offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation : even
so, by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men to
justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were
made sinners : so by the obedience of one shall many be made
righteous.'
2. Our justification is the justification of the ungodly, Rom, iv. 5;
which cannot be therefore by our own righteousness, but the righte-
ousness of another, even of a Redeemer, according to that, Rom. v.
9. ' Much more being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved
from wrath through him ;' our sins being imputed to him, and his
righteousness to us. Gal. iii. 13. ' Christ hath redeemed us from the
curse of the law, being made a curse for us.'
3. Lastly, There is nothing else we can lay claim to, which can
OF JUSTIFICATION-. 697
satisfy the law. And it must needs be satisfied ere the sinner can
be justified. For the law must be magnified and made honourable.
Hence the scripture does so much notice, that by this way the law is
established, which otherwise would be undermined, Rom. iii. 31. its
righteousness fulfilled, Rom. viii. 4. and hath its end for perfection,
chap. X. 4.
Thirdly, I proceed to shew, what way a sinner can be justified by
a righteousness not wrought by himself, but by Christ. This will be
clear, if ye consider these four concurring grounds.
1. Christ's suretyship which he voluntarily took on himself, Heb.
vii. 22. What Christ did and suftei'ed, he did and suffered as a
public person, for an elect world, not as a private person for him-
self. They took on the debt, he paid it for them ; what the law or
justice had to demand of him, he undertook to clear for their be-
hoof. Thus a foundation is laid for justification by his righteous-
ness.
2. The gospel-offer wherein Christ and all his salvation and bene-
fits are freely offered to all such as will receive the same. There he
is offered in a suitableness to the needs of sinners. Rev. iii. 18.
And, amongst other things, Christ with his righteousness, is offered
to the unrighteous; as with his sanctifying Spirit to the unholy.
Thus his righteousness is in a fair way to become theirs, as a free
gift, to be theirs to whom it is offered.
3. The faith of the elect, whereby Christ's righteousness becomes
actually theirs. Gal. ii. 16. ' Knowing that a man is not justified by
the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have
believed in Jesus Christ; that we might be justified by the faith of
Jesus Christ, and not by the works of the law : for by the works of
the law shall no flesh be justified.' For it is the very nature of
faith to receive the free gift of righteousness, and by our receiving
it upon the offer, it becomes ours. But there is no way to receive
Christ's righteousness, but with himself; for God gives not Christ's
benefits apart from himself, but with himself, which is the way of
the covenant. And hence we may see three things :
(1.) That it is by faith only Christ's righteousness becomes ours,
and that we have an actual interest in it, and are put in possession
of it, Phil. iii. 9. — ' The righteousness which is by faith.' "Whatever
foundation may be laid for it in the decree of God's election, and in
Christ's satisfaction in our stead, yet it is not but by faith that we
are possessed of it, or can plead it before the Lord. For as Adam's
sin cannot hurt us till we have a being in him naturally ; so Christ's
righteousness cannot profit us till we be in him by faith.
(2.) ITow Christ's righteousness becomes ours by faith. Faith
598 OF JUSTIFICATION.
unites us to Christ iu the way of the spiritual marriage-covenant,
Eph, ii. 17. Being- united to hira, we have a communion with liim
in all the benefits of his purchase, and so in his righteousness, which
is one of the chief of them. He himself is ours by faith ; and so all
that is his is ours for our good. This union being most real, the
commuuion is so too. And hence we are said to be ' crucified with
him,' Gal. ii. 20; 'buried with him,' Rom. vi. 4; yea, 'raised with
him,' Eph. ii. 6.
(3.) How we are justified by faith. Not that faith is our righte-
ousness ; for our righteousness is not our faith, but we get it by
faith, Phil. iii. 9. We are justified by it instrumentally, as we say
one is enriched by a marriage, when by it he gets what makes him
rich. So that faith is that whereby the soul is married to Christ;
and being maiTied to him, has communion with him in his righteous-
ness, which justifies the person before God.
4. God's imputation, whereby he reckons Christ's righteousness to
be the believer's in law : as the judge sustains the husband's pay-
ment for the wife's, and so absolves her from any action the pursuer
can have against her for the debt, Rom. iv. 6. This imputation or
reckoning of the judge is according to the truth of the thing,
Christ's righteousness being really the believer's righteousness ante-
cedently to the imputation, namely, by faith. So that Christ's
righteousness is imputed to the believer, because it is really his ;
and it is not therefore really his, because it is imputed to him.
Fourthly, I come now to shew how the justifying of a sinner thus
consists with the honour of God's justice, and of his law. Very
well does it so consist; for God's justice and law have more honour
by Christ's obedience and death, than tliey could have had by the
obedience or death of the justified party.
1. What are all the creatures together in comparison of the Son
of God, in point of greatness and excellency ? Did David's men say
of him, who was but a creature of their own kind, ' Thou art worth
ten thousand of us?' 2 Sam. xviii. 3. so may not we say of him, who
was the Father's fellow. Thou art worth ten thousand worlds of us ?
When a king puts his own Son, and heir to the crown, to death, for
transgressing the laws, his justice is more conspicuous, and the
law moro honoured, than by the execution of a thousand ordinary
malefactors. So that we may say, that God's justice, and respect to
his law, appeared more in mount Calvary, than it does in hell ; for
in the one was God, in the other were creatures groaning out for a
broken law.
2. Suppose the company of the justified had, for the honour of the
law and justice, been all sent to hell together ; yet they would ever
OF JUSTIFICATION. 599
have been but satisfying, they never could have come up to the full
satisfaction, so as there might be no more to demand of them. For
infinite justice can never be completely satisfied by a finite creature ;
and therefore hell-torments are eternal. But here, by Jesus Christ,
justice gets the least and last farthing paid down ? and the law has
till it can demand no more, John xix. 30.
3. Lastly, By Christ's obedience and death, law and justice are
honoured both actively and passively. Now, if Adam had stood
and been justified by his works, they had been only glorified ac-
tively. If the now justified had been damned for their sin, and suf-
fered for it for ever, they had been only glorified passively ; but
now, by this way of the Mediator's suretyship, they are glorified
both ways. He has obeyed the law's commands to the least. He
has suftered the wrath and curse of God to the utmost, which the
creature could never have done ; and borne it with that patience,
submission, and resignation, and is quite beyond the reach of a mere
creature, Isa. liii. 7-
So the believer's justification is on the surest grounds. The jus-
tice of Grod and his law consent to it, as that which is more for their
honour than the ruin of the sinner.
Fifthly, I come now to shew how the justification of a sinner by
the righteousness of Christ consists with free grace. If our justifi-
cation be thus purchased by the perfect obedience and satisfaction
of Christ, how is it of free grace ? I answer, Yery well. For,
1. God accepted ofvi surety, when he might have held by the sin-
ner himself, and insisted that the soul that sinned might die, Rom.
V. 8. What was it but free grace that moved him, when tlie neck
of all the elect was upon the block, to allow it to rise up without
receiving the fatal blow, and accepting of a Surety in their room ?
Could any man oblige the Judge to this ? God did this freely.
2. God himself provided the Surety, John iii. 16. When Isaac
lay bound on the altar, God provided the ram for the burnt-ofi*ering.
What could man have done to get a cautioner when he broke, in the
first covenant ? Among all the beasts of the field there could not
be found an atoning sacrifice, Ps. xl. 6. All the angels in heaven
could not have aftbrded a cautioner. But free grace set infinite wis-
dom on work to find out one, which pitched on the Son of God, Psal.
Ixxxix. 19. So the Father gives his own Sou, and the Son takes on
man's nature, and pays the debt. What is there hero but riches of
grace to the justified sinner ? So it is God's own righteousness,
Phil. iii. 9. freely given to us. The which if it had not, as the tree
fell, it behoved to have lain for ever.
3. Lastly, God demands nothing of us for it. It is a rich pur-
600 OF .TUSTIFICATTON.
cliase, a dear purchase, the price of blood : but the rigliteousness
and the justification are given to us most freely through faith.
That is, "we Have it, for Take and have. And the very hand -where-
with we receive it, namely faith, is the free gift of God unto us,
Eph. ii. 8. So that most evident it is, that we are justified freely
by his grace.
I come now to make some j^ractical improvement of this im-
portant subject.
Use I. Of information. From wOiat is said, learn,
1. That they are poor fools who have slight thoughts of sin and
guilt. How many think very little of unpardoned guilt ? There is
a band lying on their head, obliging them to bear God's wrath for
their sin ; yet they rest in x)eace. They are lying under a sentence
of condemuation, and know not how soon they may be led out to
execution ; yet they are at ease. They are drawing on more guilt
daily without fear, and so making their bonds stronger. 0, Sirs !
look here and see the evil of sin, the dreadful nature of guilt. No-
thing less could take sin away, and break asunder these bands, than
the death of our Redeemer. Behold it in this glass, and be afraid
of it.
2. How ill does it set us to have cheap thoughts of pardon !
Num. xiv. 17, 19. ' God forgive me,' is a common word in some
people's mouths, set oflf with a laugh. Most people fancy it is
an easy thing to get a pardon. They know God is full of mercy,
Christ of bowels, no more ado but to make a confession, pray to
God to forgive them, and all is well; as if they might live like
lions, and then leap like lambs out of Delilah's lap into Abraham's
bosom. But if ever ye get a pardon, ye will change your mind, and
find it has cost Christ dear ; it is written in his blood, and will cost
you broken bones ere ye obtain it.
3. Faith is absolutely necessary, Rom. v. 1. There is no justifi-
cation without faith, and no access to heaven for the unjustified.
"While you continue in a state of unbelief, guilt girds you about
as cords of death. And till ye believe and come to Christ, none
of them all will be loosed, but they will weigh you down to de-
struction. 0 then come to Christ, and believe, accept of the
Cautioner in the covenant. Without union with him, ye can
have no share in his righteousness, and without faith no union
with Christ.
4. No sin is so great, but one may be justified from it, if he will
come to Christ, and close with him, 2 Cor. v. 21. It is Christ's
righteousness upon which a sinner is justified, and that is an ever-
lasting riohteousuess, a righteousness of infinite value ; and no sin
OF JUSTIFICATION^. 601
is so great but it will swallow it up. There is uone so broad but
this white raiment will cover it. No guilt so strong but this will
break it.
5. Most miserable will their case be, that shall be left to feci
their owu Aveight, Psal. xciv. ult. He ' shall bring upon them their
own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness ; yea,
the Lord our God shall cut them off.' Many see not their need of
Christ and his righteousness now : but when that falls on them for
their own sin, that fell on him for the sins of those he bare, they
will find their punishment like Cain's greater than what they can
bear. What the Cautioner was put to in paying the debt of sin,
may fright every one with the thoughts of their answering for their
own.
6. Lasth/, Happy is the case of the justified, Psal. xxxii. 1.
They are secured as to their state, no more under wrath, Rom. viii.
1. Their eternal salvation is sure, and can never fail, Rom. viii.
30. They have got over the gulph of condemnation, and shall
never fall therein. Whom God justifies now, he will not condemn
hereafter.
Use II. Of trial. By what is said, ye may try your state,
whether ye be justified or not. And ye have reason to put this
matter to trial accurately and exactly. For,
1. One thing is sure, that every man is once under a sentence of
condemnation, Eph. ii. 3. Gal. iii. 10. Now, what course have ye
taken to get from under this ? and if ye have been aiming at it,
have ye carried your point, or not ? No man is carried out of the
state of condemnation in a morning dream ; most men abide in the
condemned state they were born in. 0 try it, whether ye be
brought out of it or not.
2. As your state is in this life in point of justification, so it will
be determined at death and the last day, Eccl. ix. 10, This life is
the time of trial ; in the other, the judgment will pass upon men ac-
cording to what they have been in this world. Now the door of
mercy stands open for pardons ; but death being once come, there is
no more access to a pardon. As the tree falls, it must lie.
3. Men are very apt to mistake their state in this matter. Many
draw a pardon to themselves, that God will not set his seal to, and
all it serves for is to blind their own eyes, Isa. xliv. 20. The
foolish virgins dreamed very confidently of peace with God ; but
they met with a sad disappointment. They called themselves the
friends of the Bridegroom, but he shut the door on them as on his
enemies.
4. Lctstlif, A mistake in this point is very dangerous. It makes
2q
602 OF .TITSTIFICATTON.
people let the time of obtaining a pardon slip, as fancying they have
it already. The foolish Anrgins might have got oil to their lamps, if
they had seen the want of it, ere it was out of time. And thus it
brings a ruining surprise, wJiile people sleeping to death, in their
dreams of peace, are awakened by the noise of war that God will
have with them for ever and ever, Avithout any more possibility of
truce. Now, ye may try it by the following things.
1. Have ye been apprehended, sisted before God the .Judge, and
brought to a reckoning of your sins ? No man gets out his absolvi-
ture before the Lord, till he appear and answer to his libel. This
is necessary to make the sinner flee to Christ ; for this end the law
was given, and for this end it is brought into the conscience. Gal.
iii. 24. That state of sin which the soul never was made truly sen-
sible of, does without doubt continue. They that never saw them-
selves in a state of condemnation are to this day under it. To what
end should one have looked for healing to the brazen serpent, that
were not stung with the fiery serpents ? If the law has not had
this effect on you to let you see your sin, and stopped your mouth
before the Lord, ye are not come to Christ for justification. But if
ye have seen your sin and state of condemnation by nature, and so
have fled for mercy to Jesus Christ, then ye may conclude ye are
justified.
2. I would ask you, Have ye been carried freely out of yourselves
to Jesus Christ for righteousness, renouncing all other confidences
in whole and in part, Phil. iii. 7, 8 ? There are many who, being
convinced of sin, fall down and beg pardon, and hope for it upon
their prayers, repentance, and reformation : but they never consider
how the law shall be answered by a perfect righteousness. But the
justified person sees, that there is no pardon to be got, without a
righteousness that will satisfy the law, and that no work of his can
do that ; therefore he lays hold on Christ for liis righteousness, and
pleads that for pardon. They unite with the Mediator by faith,
and so he spreads his skirt over them. They get in under the co-
vert of the Mediator's blood, and place their confidence there, be-
lieving that it is of sufiiciency to shield them from wrath, and
trusting upon his righteousness for that end, Phil. iii. 3. They con-
tinue not in mere suspense, James i. 6, 7. but so wrestle against
doubting, as to cast their anchor, and lay their weight for eternity,
upon the righteousness of Christ.
3. The dominion and reigning power of sin is broken in the justi-
fied. Bom. vi. 14. Where the condemning power of sin, is removed,
its reigning power is also taken away. If the condemned man get
his remission, he is taken out of his irons, his prison, and the jailor's
OF JUSTIFICATION-. 603
power ; and so the pardoned sinner is no more taken captive by Sa-
tan at his will, 2 Tim. ii. ult. Will the liar lie on, the swearer
swear on, the drunkard drink on, the formalist still hold on with
his mere form of godliness, and hope that God has pardoned him ?
No ; let no man deceive himself. Those chains of reigning lusts
that are still rattling about thee, declare thee to be yet a con-
demned man, Rom. viii. 1, 2. Doubt ye not but if ye were justified,
ye would be washed? 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10, 11. To pretend to the par-
don of sin which thou art still living and going on in, is practical
blasphemy, as if Christ were the minister of sin ; it is a turning the
grace of God into licentiousness, which will bring a heavy ven-
geance at length. But if the reigning power of sin, be broken in
thee, thou art a justified man; it is a sign thou art healing, when
the strength of the disease of sin is abating.
4. Habitual tenderness of conscience with respect to sin, tempta-
tions, and appearance of evil, is a good sign of a justified state,
Acts xxiv. 16. Burnt bairns dread the fire ; and the man who has
brought himself under a sentence of death, if he escape it may be
thought, he will beware of falling into the snare again, Isa. xxxviii.
17. compare ver. 15. Justified persons may fall into acts of uuten-
derness many a time ; but habitual untenderness is a black mark,
when people habitually and ordinarily take to themselves a sinful
latitude in their thoughts, words, or actions. It is a sad sign that
sin has never been made very bitter to them, when they can so
easily go into it. It is easy to pretend to tenderness in opinions,
and with respect to church-differences ; but would to God there
appeared more tenderness among us in matters of morality, that
there were more sobriety among us, that people who have money to
spare, would give it to the poor, and not lay it out in a way that
God has so often visibly blasted, or spend it on their lusts ; that
men would not by their presence or otherwise encourage penny-wed-
dings (condemned both by the law of the land and the church,) these
nurseries of profaueness, which have so often among us left a stink
behind them in the nostrils of truly tender persons, and before a
holy God. I would i-ecommend to you the apostle's general rule,
Phil. iv. 8. ' Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are ho-
nest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, what-
soever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report ; if
there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on thesQ
things.'
5. Lasthj, The fruits of faith in a holy life. We are justified by
faith without works; but that faith that justifies is always followed
with good works, Acts xv. 9. If the curse be taken away, under
2 q2
604 OF JUSTIFICATION.
which the soul remains barren, it will become fruitful in the fruits
of the Spirit, Gal. v. 22, 23. Our faith justifies our persons as it
receives Christ with his righteousness ; but our faith must be justi-
fied by our works, i. e. it must be by our good works evidenced to
be true faith. Therefore the apostle James disputes against that
faith that is Avithout works, shewing it to be no true justifying faith,
James ii. 17, 18. There is a diiference betwixt justification and
sanctification, but they are inseparable companions. And no man
can evidence his justification without the fruits of holiness. Ex-
amine yourselves by these things, what state ye are in before God.
Use III. Of exhortation. This I shall address both to sinners
and saints.
First, To sinners yet in the state of sin and wrath. Here is good
news of pardon and acceptance with God for you. I would exhort
you to be concerned to get out of the state of wrath and condemna-
tion ; and while God is sitting on a throne of grace, do not slip the
opportunity, but sue out your absolviture from before the Lord in
his own way. Take no rest till ye be justified before God through
Christ. To make way for this exhortation, I will lay before you
the following motives.
Mot. 1. "While you are out of a justified state, a sentence of con-
demnation stands against thee in the court of heaven, and tliou
knowest not how soon it may be executed. Gal. iii. 10. John iii. 18.
and ult. If thou wert under a sentence of death by the laws of
men, wouldst thou not bestir thyself for a pardon, if there were any
hope ? But, j>ooT soul, thou art under a sentence of eternal death ;
and yet thou livest at ease. God's law has condemned thee as a
malefactor, his truth confirms the sentence, and justice craves exe-
cution. All things are ready for it. Psal. vii. 12, 13. When thou
liest down, thou hast no security that it shall not be executed ere
thou arise ; and when thou goest out, thou hast no security that it
shall not be executed ere thou come in. Only long-sulfering pro-
cures thee a reprieve one day after another, to see if thou wilt sue
out a pardon. But as secure as thou art the sword of justice hangs
over thy head by the hair of long-tired patience ; and if that break,
thou art a dead man.
Mot. 2. A pardon and acceptance with God is not so easily ob-
tained as people generally think. God gives pardon freely, yet
.none come by it lightly. They that get it, get it so as they are
taught to prize the mercy, Mic. vii. 18. They that know not the
evil of sin nor the holy just nature of God, and that were never
pressed with the sense of unpardoned guilt, think it a very easy
thing to get a pardon, as if there were no more but to ask and re-
ceive. But I would have you to consider,
OF JUSTIFICATION. 6U5
(1.) Tiie justifyiug and pardoning of a sinner is one of the great-
est works of God. It is a greater work than to make a world. God
had no more ado but to say, in the creation, ' Let there be light, &c.
and there was.' But when sinners were to be absolved, justice
stands up for satisfaction. The truth of God for the honour of a
broken law, wisdom is set awork to find out a way how pardoning
mercy may get a vent; and for that cause the Son of God pays
down the price of blood to buy the absolviture. If God could have
absolved the sinner from guilt and punishment by a bare word, how
would he have passed by that easy way, and fetched a compass by
the blood of his own Son ? John iii. 16. And after all it is a work
of power to be exercised according to the greatness of mercy, Numb,
siv. 17, 19.
(2.) Sin is the greatest of evils, no wonder it be hard to take it
away. It is of all things most contrary to the holy nature of God.
Hab. i. 13. When thou goest on in thy sin, thou art engaged
against all the attributes of God. It is a daring of his justice, an
invading of his sovereignty, a defying of his power, an abusing of
his patience, and a despising of his love, mercy, and goodness. It
contradicts his will ; thereby the potsherds strive against their Ma-
ker, and lusts are set up against his holy law. It robs him of the
glory due to him from his creatures, and turns to his dishonour,
When God had perfected the frame of the world, and made man
and all the creatures for his glory, sin entering marred the whole
frame, and made the workmanship of his own hands dishonour him.
0 ! is it not a great work then to get a pardon, and all these in-
juries buried in forgetfulness with a holy jealous God !
(3.) God's elect have endured sad breakings of heart from the
time they are made sensible of sin, till they have got their absolvi-
ture from it, Acts ii. 37. They have known the terror of the Lord,
to the breaking of their bones, ere they could get a glimpse of his
reconciled countenance. Think ye as light of pardon as ye will, if
ever the Lord come to give you a spiritual medicine to cause you
sweat out the poison of sin, it will make you sick at the heart, if it
bring you not to the last gasp, Isa. xxxiii. ult.
(4.) Lastly, If ever ye get a pardon, there will be an awful solem-
nity at the giving of it, Psal. Ixxxix. 14. and it will be a very strong
faith that will not receive it with a trembling hand, Hos. xi. 10.
compare chap. iii. ult. ' They shall fear the Lord,' lleb. ' fear to the
Lord.' For God gi)^s no j)ardons but what are written in the blood
of a Redeemer, sufficiently testifying his detestation of the crime ;
none are got but through the wounds of a Redeemer. So that the
very tlirone of grace stands on justice fully satisfied; and thou shalt
2 Q 3
606 OF JUSTIFICATION.
be made to say when thou gettest the panion, as Jacob did of the
place where he had slept all night, 'How dreadful is this place! this
is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven,'
Gen. xxviii. 17-
Therefore look on it as a matter of the greatest weight, that will
not be slightly managed, and to purpose too.
3Iot. 3. Consider the dreadful disadvantages that attend an un-
justified state. While ye are unjustified,
1. Ye can have no access to God, nor communion with him, Rom.
iii. 3. Unpardoned guilt is a partition-wall betwixt God and you,
Isa. lix. 2. It stands as the angel with the flaming sword to guard
the tree of life, that ye cau have no access to it. It is true, ye may
attend public ordinances, and go about private and secret duties ;
but they are all lost, as to communion with God, in the great gulph
of an unpardoned state. Ye cannot have a comfortable word out
of his mouth, nor a smile of his face.
2. Ye can have no peace with God, Rom. v. 1. What Jehu said
to Joram, God says to every unjustified sinner pretending peace
with him, ' What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother
Jezebel, and her witchcrafts, are so many ?' 2 Kings ix. 22. It is
sin that makes God an enemy to the work of his own hands ; and
while it is not forgiven, there can be no reconciliation. How can
they think they can have peace with God whom his law condemns ?
What peace ye have in your consciences, arises from stupidity and
presumption ; it is stolen, and is none of God's allowance, Isa. Ivii.
ult. Neither could ye command it, or retain it, if ye saw your case.
3. Ye cau have no fruits of holiness. The conscience must be
purged, ei'e one can serve God acceptably, Heb. ix. 44. or do any
work good in God's sight, 1 Tim. i. 5. Justification and sanctifica-
tion are inseparable, and a justified state goes before a holy life ;
' for to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness,' Rom. iv. 5.
While a man is unpardoned, the curse lies on him ; and it is a blast-
ing withering curse, like that on the fig-tree, that no fruit of holi-
ness can grow where it comes. For it stops the communication of
sanctifying influences ; and the earth shall sooner bring forth its
fruits while the influences of the heavens are restrained, than a soul
shall do any good work without the influences of Christ's Si)irit,
John XV. 5.
4. All you do is turned to sin by this means,^sal. xiv. 1. A soul
unjustified, is as a tainted vessel that turns every liquor that is put
into it. Hence your very civil actions are turned to sin, Prov. xxi.
4. natural actions, Zech. vii. 6. yea, and your religious actions too,
OF JUSTIiaCATION. 607
Prov. XV. 1. Isa. Ixvi. 3. For as the purest liquor put into a vessel
for base uses is loathed, so are the best performances of an unpar-
doned sinner, by a holy God. For whatever they be as to the mat-
ter of them, they are selfish and hateful as to the principle end, and
manner.
5. Lastly, Hence your accounts are running on every day and
moment to the avenging justice of God, Rom. ii. 5. Thou art still
deeper and deeper in that fearful debt ; the cords of thy guilt are
growing stronger and stronger. Thy crimes and grounds of condem-
nation are multiplied more and more ; and though it is only dying
for all, yet the more thy guilt is increased, the more will be thy
punishment. It is true, that every one is sinning daily ; but a jus-
tified person's debts are not charged upon him for eternal wrath,
but temporary chastisements ; so that theirs is but an account of
pennies, while thine is that of talents.
Mot. 4. Consider the unspeakable advantages of a pardoned justi-
fied state. He that is in that state, is a happy man, whatever his
case be otherwise in the world, Psal. xxii. 1. — He may meet with
many crosses in a present world, but the white stone given him of
God will make him happy for all that, Hab. iii. 17- One may be
rich, yet reprobate ; his portion fat, but his soul lean ; applauded
on the earth, but damned in hell. These things come from God's
hand ; and the crown of worldly felicity set on with his bare hand,
he will kick off with his foot at length. But a j)ardon comes from
his heart, as an eternal love token, Rom. xi. 29. 0 ! let the happi-
ness of a justified state engage you to seek after it. Get into the
state of pardon ; and,
1. Ye shall have peace with God, Rom. v. 1. Sin is the only
controversy betwixt God and a soul ; when that is removed, the
parties are reconciled, and meet together in peace. God justifying
the sinner, lays by the legal enmity he bare to him, while he lived
in a state of sin. He pursues him no more with wrath or curse.
The heavens that are now black above your heads shall clear up,
and ye shall enjoy a pleasant sunshine, if the cloud of guilt were
dispelled. 0, Sirs ! do ye not value peace with God ? If ye do,
then seek to be in this state.
2. It will bring you other peace besides. Peace of conscience fol-
lows upon a justified state. Unpardoned guilt makes a foul and
condemning conscience, which gnaws a man like a worm. But
when one gets his conscience sprinkled with the Redeemer's blood,
and his sin pardoned, the conscience is cleansed, Ileb. ix. 14. And
then it is turned to a good conscience, which sings sweetly ia a
man's bosom, 2 Cor. i. 12. Yea, tc shall have peace with the crea-
G08 OF JUSTIFICATION.
tures, that arc at war with the uupardoned sinner, Job v. 23.
Having thus gained the favour of tlie Master of the great family,
the servants shall all turn to be your friends.
3. Ye shall have access to God with confidence and holy bold-
ness, Eph. iii. 12. 1 John iii. 21. God shall no more sit on a tri-
bunal of strict justice to you, with the llaming sword before him ;
but on a throne of grace, with a rainbow round about it. Rev. iv. 3.
And ye may come to him with all your wants, complaints, &:c. as
unto a friend, yea, a Father in Christ, confidently expecting all
good things from him. Job xxxiii. 24, 26. For being justified, ye
have a satisfaction to plead, upon which he can deny you no good
thing ; ye are cloathed with a righteousness that makes you spot-
less, and are under a covert, where love and favour shine con-
tinually.
4. Ye shall be delivered from the dominion of sin, Rom. vi. 14.
and be made to bring forth the fruits of holiness. Col. ii. 13. As
soon as ever the remission is passed the seals, so soon the orders are
given to deliver the prisoner, to beat ofli" his chains, and open the
prison-door, and set him at liberty. The apostle tells us, that ' the
strength of sin is the law,' 1 Cor. xv. 56. namely, the law con-
demning and cursing the sinner ; so that the sinner being under tite
curse, sin reigns in him with a full sway, as the thorns and briers in
the cursed ground. But the law's curso and condemning power
being removed in justification, sin loses its strength. And the
blessing coming in its room, the soul is made fruitful in holiness.
Hence faith's sanctifying virtue is so much insisted on in the word,
Acts XV. 9.
5. It Avill take the venom out of your crosses, and the strongest
afflictions ye meet Avith, 1 Cor. xv. 55. The venom of afllictions is
the curse in a cross ; but pardon takes out that. A bee-sting your
troubles may have after th;it, but the serpent's sting shall no more
be found in them. A pardoned state sanctifies crosses to a man ;
and a sanctified cross is better than an unsanctified comfort. A
loss Avith God's favour, is more than an enjoyment with God's
wrath.
6. It will sweeten your mercies with an additional sweetness, and
make a small mercy more valuable than the greatest earthly com-
fort an unpardoned sinner can have, Psal. xxxvii. 16. Who would
not chuse to live at peace in a cottage, on coarse fare, than to be in
the case of one under a sentence of death, liberally fed in a castle
till the execution-day ? A mercy w'ithout a pardon will go a short
wa'y ; the man may cry, ' There is death in the pot,' 5Ial. ii. 2. But
a paixlon puts a blessing in a mercy, purifies and refines it, putting
a stamp of God's good Avill on it, Gen. xxxiii. 11.
OF Jl^STIFICATIo^', 609
7. It will make all things work together for yonr good, Rora.
viii. 28. God's wrath and anger against a person mars all to him.
It makes every thing work for his ruin : the unpardoned man's
crosses are curses, and his good things as well as his evil things
work against him, Prov. i. 32. But by the Lord's favour all things
shall work through grace to bring the believer to glory. God is for
him, who then can be against him ? Whether the wind blow on his
face, or on his back, it shall forward him to the happy harbour.
8. It is the way to live comfortably, Isa. xl. 1, 2. None in all
the world have so good a reason to live comfortably as the justified
person. He that gets the white stone of the Lord's absolvitui'e, if
he can but look on it, his soul may rejoice within him. If all
things in the world were going wrong, he has that to comfort hira,
that God is his friend. However little he may hare in hand, he has
all the heavenly inlieritance in hope. The uncomfortable life the
pardoned sinner has, arises from Avant of consideration ; but the
more clearly he sees his matters, he will have the more comfort.
9. Lastly, It is the way to die safely and comfortably too. The
pardoned sinner may triumph over death and the grave, Rom. viii.
38, 39. 1 Cor. xv. 55. When death comes to him, he has his dis-
charge, it cannot harm him. As for the tribunal, he cannot be con-
demned there, for he is already justified. He shall swim safe
through these dark waters, for the weight of guilt is removed, he
cannot sink in them.
Mot. 5. A pardon is in your offer. There is none of us all under
the sentence of condemnation, but may get it reversed, if we will
come to Christ, and sue out an absolviture in the Lord's own way,
Isa. Iv. 7- He is a just God we have to do with, but there is a way
how pardoning mercy may reach us in a full consistency with jus-
tice. The white flag of peace does yet hang out, and the market of
free grace stands open. There is an act of grace and full indemnity
through Jesus Christ proclaimed in the gospel. Come in, sinners,
and take the benefit of it. Why will ye stand out, and despise the
King of Heaven's free pardon ?
Object. My sins are so great, that I can have no hope of pardon,
whatever others may. Ans. Neither the greatness nor the multi-
tude of your sins, nor your backsliding into them again and again,
put you beyond the reach of pardon. For observe, I pray you,
the foundation of pardon is Christ's righteousness, and that is the
righteousness of God, Rom. x. 3. Now, your sins are the sins of a
creature ; and shall not the righteousness of God be able to remove
the unrighteousness of the creature ? And it is to all, and upon'all
that believe, Rom. iii. 22. and remember, as the one abounds, the
other superabouuds, Rom. v. 20.
GIO OF JUSTIFICATION.
God is pleased to heap words of grace one upon another to put
tempted sinners in hopes of pardon, Joel ii. 13. ' Rend your heart
and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God ; for he is
gracious and merciful, slovr to anger, and of great kindness, and re-
pentcth him of the evil,' Isa. i. 18. ' Come now, and let us reason to-
getlier, saith the Lord : though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be
as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool.' — Chap. Iv. 7- ' Let the wicked forsake his way, and the un-
righteous man his thoughts : and let him return unto the Lord, and
he will have mercy upon him, and unto our God, for he will abun-
dantly pardon.' And he has set up many instances of pardoning
mercy, that none may despair of finding mercy that will come to
him in his own way. Adam, the leading sinner in the world, was
pardoned. ManaTsseh, who gave up himself to the most gross sins of
devilry, murder, &c. yet received a pardon. Paul, who was a per-
secutor, a blasphemer, and injurious, obtained mercy. And the very
Jews that murdered the Lord of glory, were pardoned through his
blood.
These instances of mercy are indeed abused to the encouraging of
sinners to go on in their sin : but they were never designed for that;
and it is a dreadful sign, when the very gospel-news of pardon be-
come a trap and a snare. But God designed them for thy encou-
ragement, 0 trembling sinner, that would fain come to God through
Christ for pardon, if thou durst; and by these he bids thee welcome,
Eph. ii. 7. Come forward, then, and sue for thy pardon.
3Iot. 6. The time of pardoning grace will not last, Isa. Iv. 6,
' Seek the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while lie is
near. Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.' The
day will come when God will not be intreated, when abused patience
will break forth into fury, Luke xiii. 24, 25. ' Strive to enter in at
the strait gate : for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and
shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up,
and hath shut the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock
at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us ; and he shall answer
and say unto you, I kuovr you not whence you are.' Beware lest ye
sit your day of grace, and it come to that, ye find no place for re-
pentance, thougli ye should seek it carefully with tears. Remember
those that were bidden to the supper, and shifted, and were ex-
cluded, Luke xiv. 24. Delay no more. A moment's delay may be
an eternal loss.
Lastly, I beseech you remember, that your eternal state depends
on your being justified now or not. If ye be justified now, ye shall
be saved eternally ; if not, ye are lost for ever. And how dreadful
OP JUSTIFICATION. 611
"will the condemnation of those be, who by slighting an oflfcred par-
don trample on the blood of Christ, which was shed for the remis-
sion of sins !
I shall conclude this use of exhortation with a few directions.
1. Labour to get your hearts wrought up to a deep concern for a
pardoned state. And for this cause, believe your miserable state
by nature, that ye are once condemned. Take a view of the holy,
righteous law, and your innumerable transgressions of it, besides
your sinful nature. Look to the flaming justice of God ? behold it
in the case of the damned, in the case of Christ suffering, and see
what a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God.
2. Go to God in Christ, and confess your sins, and condemn your-
selves. Lay them out before God with shame and confusion of face,
with their several aggravations. Make a full and free confession,
insisting most on those sins that have been most dishonouring to
God in you. Acknowledge yourselves justly condemned by the
law, and God to be righteous, if he should put the sentence into exe-
cution.
Lastlij, Solemnly and sincerely accept of Christ in the covenant
of grace held forth in the gospel. Receive him with his righteous-
ness, and enter under the covert of his blood. And lay all your
guilt over on him, believing his ability and willingness to remove it.
And accepting of Christ for justification and sanctiftcation, ye shall
be accepted and pardoned.
Exhort. 2. To justified persons. This privilege calls you to seve-
ral duties.
1. Love the Lord, and love him much, for much is forgiven you.
This may be oil to that holy flame, and therefore love will continue
in heaven for ever.
2. Be of a forgiving disposition, Eph. iv. ult. ' Be ye kind one to
another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for
Christ's sake, hath forgiven you.' The same Saviour that brought
in remission of sins, binds us to love our enemies. And the bitter
revengeful spirit against those we think have wronged us, is a sad
sign that our own sin is unforgiven of God, Matt. vi. 12. ' Forgive
us our debts as we forgive our debtors.' They who have found
what a dreadful weight sin unpardoned is, and have at length got it
removed, will thereby be helped to forgive.
3. Walk humbly. Ye are justified, but it is by the righteousness
of another. Ye are pardoned, but it was procured to you by the
satisfaction of a Saviour. Your debt is paid, your discharge is got
up ; but thanks to free grace, not to you, for it.
4. Bear your troubles and crosses in a world patiently. — Your
612 OF ADOPTION.
life that was forfeited by sin is safe by grace ; therefore take
thankfully any troubles you meet with. For why should a living
man complain, especially one that deserved to die, and yet is ad-
judged to life ?
5. Lastly, Walk tenderly. God pardoning a sinner, dismisseth
him as Christ did the penitent adultress, John xii. 11. 'Go, and
sin no more.' Let not your broken bones be forgotten, but walk
softly all your years. And if ye be pardoned, shew it by your holy
and tender walk.
ADOPTION.
2 CoK. VI. 18. — And I will he a Father-' unto you, and ye shall be my
sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
These words do hold forth the singular privilege of those that obey
the call of the gospel, ver. 17- — ' Wherefore come out from among
them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean
thing.' That call is not a call to separate from a church, but from
those that are out of the church, ver. 14. ' Be not unequally yoked
together with unbelievers : for what fellowship hath righteousness
with unrighteousness ? and what communion hath light with dark-
ness ?' not only from outward visible communion with idolaters, but
to separate from the unconverted to inward invisible communion
with the family of God, ver 18. In a word, it is a call to come out
of the world lying in wickedness, and to join the lieavenly society.
There are but two families in the world, and to one of the two
every man and woman belongs. One is Satan's family, the other
God's. And these are the two terras of effectual calling. (1.) The
terra from which sinners are called by the gospel ; that is Satan's
family, which they are born in, Psal. xlv. 10. And it is made up
of all the unconverted world, and fallen angels. These have a
dreadful communion among themselves under one head, the devil.
That is the family of unbelievers, unrighteousness, and Belial. And
to come out of this the gospel calls you, ver. 17- ' Wherefore corae
out from among them, &c. (2.) Tlie term to which ; that is God's
family, made up of saints, holy angels, and Christ as the Elder Bro-
ther having dominion over tlie family ; he their head, and the head
of Christ is God, 1 Cor. si. 3. That is the family of believers,
righteousness, and Christ. And to this the gospel calls you to come.
Thus the text proposes a great privilege of those that are effectu-
OF ADOPTION. 613
ally called, that is, adoption into the family of God. And here
consider,
1. The family they are brought into ; it is that of the Lord Al-
mighty. No body needed to adopt, but he that had something to
give. The family which believers are taken into is a rich family,
seeing the Head thereof is the Almighty, who because he is Almighty
can, and because he is a Father will, make his own perfectly happy.
2. Upon whom this privilege is conferred; that is, those who
come out of the world and the family of Satan, and answer the gos-
pel-call. (1.) They are aliens, they are by uatui'e strangers to the
family they are taken into ; they are of an ill house, that is an ene-
my to the house of heaven. And whatever house men would pitch
on, it would not readily be such an one : but free grace takes peo-
ple from such a house. (2.) But they are separatists from it, they
are such as are sick of their father's house, and people that are their
own, and come off from it by faith to the Lord upon the gospel-call.
Like Ruth, they leave their natural country and kindred, and come
to incorporate with that other society.
3. The relation they are put into in God's family. It were much
if they of the house of hell might be received into the house of hea-
ven, in the quality of sojourners to lodge a while tliere ; more, if in
quality of domestic servants ; and more, if in quality of friends :
but they are received in quality of children of the family. And as
all relation is mutual, upon the one hand, God becomes their Father.
That is a kindly word, and that he is to them. On the other, they
become sons and daughters. Observe, how particular this promise
is, expressly made to both sexes. Whatever privileges in external
things men had of old, or yet have above women ; yet in respect of
spiritual privileges in Christ they are alike. The one are sons, and
the other daughters, both children equally dear to our heavenly
Father.
4. Lastly, The confirmation of this privilege, and the promise
thereof, saith the Lord. If a man or angel had said it, it could
hardly have gained credit, that there should be such an adoption.
But God himself says it ; and it is impious therefore to disbelieve it.
The sum of the words may be comprised in the following doctrine,
viz.
DocT. ' As adoption into God's family is the peculiar privilege of
those that are eff'ectually called, so whosoever will comply with
the gospel-call, and come a^yay, shall be adoj^ted into God's
family : God will be a Father to them, and they shall be his sons
and daughters.'
This doctrine has two branches.
614 OF ADOPTION.
I. Adoption into God's family is tlie peculiar privilege of those
that are effectually called.
II. "Whosoever will comply with the gospel call, shall be adopted
into God's family ; God will be their Father, and they shall be his
sons and daughters.
I shall prosecute these two in order.
I. Adoption into God's family is the peculiar privilege of those
that are effectually called. Adoption follows our justification ; and
is ' an act of God's free grace, whereby we are received into the
number, and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God.'
Here I shall endeavour to shew,
1. What adoption in general is.
2. What are the parts of adoption.
3. The properties of this adoption.
4. Apply the subject.
FIRST, I shall shew what adoption in the general is. — That we
may understand this, we must consider, in the first place, what
adoption among men is ; and that is twofold.
1. Proper adoption, much used among the ancient Romans and
Greeks, was a legal act, imitating nature, introduced for the com-
fort of those who wanted children, whereby one that was the natu-
ral child of another man became the son of the adoj^ter. It was a
judicial action done in presence of the magistrate ; among the
Greeks by way of a testament, signed and sealed in his presence ;
among the Romans, the adopter, the natural father, and the son,
appearing before the magistrate, the adopter taking hold of the son,
said, ' I avouch this person to be my son, and I have bought him
with this mouey.' The natural father judicially yielded up his
rio"ht to the adopter. And the magistrate adjudged him to be the
adopter's son. The party being adopted, was made free of the city,
and not only taken into the adopter's family, but ascribed into the
tribe or fraternity of the adopter. It had place among those that
either had no children at all, by their death or otherwise had no
lawful children. But the law restrained them that they might not
adopt, but in a suitableness to the quality of the adopter ; so that a
nobleman might not adopt a commoner, lest the dignity of the
adopter should be stained by the meanness of the adopted.
2. Metaphorical adoption, which is ingrafting. Thus the stock
adopts the branch that is cut off another tree, and put into another
branch of it. For as the adopter takes another man's child, and
nourishes him as his own ; so the ingrafted branch is counted among
the natural branches, and partakes with them of the sap of the
stock. Hence you may see, that
OP ADOPTioir. 615
Divine adoption is an act of God, whereby he does judicially take
(and constitute) those that are by nature strangers to him, and none
of his family, members of his family, and his own children, giving
them the privileges of his children, or of his house as children.
And it is twofold.
1. External and federal which is common to the members of the
visible church, which is a society gathered out from the rest of the
world, the visible family of God on earth, enjoying peculiar privi-
leges, beyond the rest of the world. This adoption belonged to
Israel of old, Rom. ix. 4. And God owned them as his sons in the
midst of Egypt, Exod. iv. 22, 23. But now it is extended to us
Gentiles, Gal. iii. 26, 27. This family has always, since Cain was
cast out, been a separated family in the world, chosen out from
among the rest ; so that they are called ' the sons of God,' Gen. vi.
2. And so it is still, and will be to the end.
This adoption, though it is really in itself a high dignity, so that,
in comparison of them, the rest of the world are but as dogs to chil-
dren, Matth. XV. 26. yet it is not a saving relation to God. And it
may be lost, as the Jews rejected did theirs. Nay one may retain
it ; and yet his natural relation to the devil remain, as to his in-
ternal state, so as he may be lost for ever notwithstanding it,
John. viii. 44. But this is not the adoption we inquire into ; but,
2. An internal and saving adoption, which is peculiar to be-
lievers, or those eftectually called and converted, which make up
the invisible church and family of God on earth, enjoying spiritual
privileges, beyond all others without or within the visible church.
These are they that are chosen out from the unconverted world
lying in wickedness, according to the decree of election, and brought
and ingrafted into Christ, and made real members of his body, John
i. 12, 13. These God adopts, judicially avouches them to be his
sons and daughters, and Satan, their natural father, is obliged to
quit his right to them ; and they thereby are, and are accounted, no
more of his family, but children of God, and have a right to the
saving special privileges of the children of liis family, Gal. iv. 5.
Eph. i. 5. Hence,
(1.) Adoption is not a real change of the sinner's nature ; but, as
justification a relative change of his state. By nature we are in a
state of condemnation, but out of that we are brought in justifica-
tion ; and out of the state of alienation from God, by adoption. So
that we ai"c no more aliens and foreigners to the family of heaven,
but domestics of it; no more the children of Satan, but of God,
Eph. ii. 19. Our names are enrolled among those t)f the family;
and though a new nature accompanies it, yet adoption itself is a
G16 OF ADOl'TIOK.
new name, not a new nature, Rev. ii. 17- though it is not an empty
title, but has vast privileges attending it.
(2.). It is done in an instant, not carried on by degrees. For it
is not capable of degrees, and there is no interjnediate state betwixt
sonship to God and to Satan ; but as soon as ever a person believes
in Christ, he is justified and adopted : as soon as the soul is married
to Christ, she becomes a daughter of the house of heaven, and her
relation to that of hell is extinguished, John i. 12. It is true, there
will be at the great day a solemn declaration of that adoption, and
the adopted will then be perfectly past their minority, and enter to
the full possession of the inheritance in their whole man ; in which
sense the apostle says, ' We wait for the adoption,' Horn. viii. 23.
* But now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what
we shall be : but we know, that when he shall appear, we shall be
like him, for we shall see him as he is,' 1 John iii. 2.
SECONDLY, I come to shew what are the parts of adoption.
These are two. 1. The receiving the sinner into the number of
God's children. 2. Giving him a right to their privileges. That
we may the more distinctly take up this, we shall take a view of
this whole blessed transaction, from the first to the last, together
with the parties concerned in it. And,
1. The adopter is God, and in respect of dispensation the Father,
the first person of the blessed Trinity, the Father of our Lord Je-
sus. For as the work of redemption is the Son's, and the work of
our sanctification the Spirit's, so our justification and adoption are
the Father's, Eph. i. 3, 5. And hence the Father's love is cele-
brated in this benefit, 1 John iii. 1. ' Behold what manner of love
the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons
of God ;' though not excluding that of the Son and the Holy Ghost,
who are one God with him, and act their part in this blessed trans-
action, bringing it about. And because, God is the Sovereign of
the universe, therefore he is also the Judge, who passeth the sen-
tence, and adjudgeth the adopted sons to himself.
2. The party adopted is an elect sinner ; for it is done in pursu-
ance of God's eternal predestination, and falls on those, and only
those who are elected to it from eternity, Eph. i. 5. God from all
eternity foreseeing, that though Adam was to be created a son of
God in his own likeness, yet he would degenerate, and all his race
be born children of wrath, and of the devil, resembling Satan natu-
rally, and prone to obey him, as children do a father, John viii. 44,
decreed, not to lose the whole race, but to bring a certain number
of them into his family again by the way of adoption, the way of
natural (Adam's) sonship failing, leaving others to continue in their
OF ADOPTIO>r. Gi7
natural father's house and family. And all these elect ones were
known from eternity to God, 2 Tim. ii. 19.
3. The natural father is the devil, that enemy of God, John viii.
44. His children they are by nature as well as others. He has a
great family, one jjart whereof dwells in the lower house ; these are
the damned spirits in hell. And of those that are once got thither,
there is no more hope nor possibility of their ever getting out of
his family. These are entered to the inheritance of their father in
almost full tale already. Another part of them are sojourning in
the upper house of this world, and that house is very throng with
his family. It contains a people that are his, Psal. xlv. 10. Many
entire nations and families are there, wherein there are none
but his. Nay, there is a world of men and women he has in
this house, 1 John v. 19 ; and himself is god and father of the fa-
mily, 2 Cor. iv. 4. who all can have no hope of a better inheritance
than he has given them, even the wrath and curse prepared for him
and his. It is out of this part of Satan's family that the adopted
are taken.
4. The suitableness of this adoption to the glory of the Adopter,
and to his family. We dare not say, he needed to take this way of
furnishing himself with children, as in the case of adoption among
men. He was happy in himself from all eternity, in the Son by
eternal generation, when there was neither man nor angel in his fa-
mily. And had all been lost together, his happiness had not been one
whit diminished. But we may say, that this device of adoption was
a device becoming him, and very agreeable to his glory and family.
His family did originally consist of two sorts of sons, angels and
men, (not to speak here of his eternal Son). Angels were the one
sort. Job xxxviii. 7 ; man the other, Luke iii. 38 ; the one as well as
the other created after his own image in knowledge, righteousness,
and holiness. The one were kept in the higher house, the other in
the lower. But sin entering among them, many of the family died
such a death as quite dissolved the relation betwixt God and them,
that they could no more call him Father, nor could he own them for
his children. It seized those first of the upper house, and multi-
tudes of them (for in one man was a legion of them) dropt doAvn to
the pit, 2 Pet. ii. 4. They infected those of the lower house, and
they that received the infection from them, conveyed it to all the
rest, so that death passed upon all that part of the family to a man,
Rom. V. 12. So that here was an empty house made.
This evinces the suitableness of making up the family again, by
the way of adoption, which by spiritual dcatli received such a dimi-
nution. As also the suitableness of adoption from among men,
2 R
618 OF ADOPTION.
wliich the fallen angels have no share in. For since they were not
all to be recovered that had fallen, but tlie justice of God was to be
glorified in some of them, it was agreeable to the wisdom of God to
adopt men, not fallen angels, since the whole mankind was lost, but
not the whole angelic kind. Multitudes of angels stood when the
rest fell, but all mankind was lost together.
5. But what shall be done for the law that forbids the staining of
the Adopter's honour by the meanness of the party adopted ? This
was a notable impediment in the way of this device of repairing the
family. The Adopter can be no higher, for he is the Sovereign King
of the world, the adopted no lower, for they are not only the chil-
dren of base men, but of the devil, the most miserable creature in
the universe. No law could be more strict for the honour of the
Adoi)ter than the holy law of God is. And he would by no means
overlook it, but magnify it, and make it honourable. What possi-
bility then is there of God's adopting children of the devil in incon-
sistency with his honour ?
"Wisdom finds out the way, that is, that they shall be adopted in
Jesus Christ, Eph. i. 5,«6. Gal. iii. 26, 27. And to let you see that
this way makes it consistent with the honour of God to adopt those
that by nature are children of the devil, consider three things in the
mystery of Christ.
(1.) By the incarnation of the Son of God, the human natiire is
dignified and nobilitated, raised to a pitch of honour even above that
of the angels, Heb. i. 13, So the Son of God partaking of human
nature with the elect, owns tliem as his brethren, by virtue of their
common human nature, Ileb. ii. 11, 12. And for this very cause he
did become man, ver. 14. which takes away the impediment arising
from the meanness of the adopted, it being very agreeable to God's
honour to adopt those for children who were of the same nature with
his own Son, i. e. of human nature. For the Son of God, to make
way for this adoption, took to himself a holy human nature, into
personal union with his Godhead. Hence,
(2.) The man Christ is the Elder Brother in the repaired family
of heaven, Rom. viii. 29. the first of the human nature having inter-
est in God as a Father, after the extinguisMng of the first relation
by creation. So that the elect drawing to him, as one betwixt whom
and them there is a natural bond of the same human nature, way is
made for their adoption through him, in consistency with the hon-
our of God.
(3.) By his obedience and satisfaction he purchased their adoption,
Avith all other privileges to them. Gal. iv. 4, 5. And his natural
bond with them gave him a direct interest to redeem them as being
OF APOPTION. G19
tlicir near Kinsman. So law and justice can have nothing to object
against the adoption. Thus by Jesus Christ, the glorious device of
repairing the family of heaven in the way of Adoption is made
practicable. But how shall it be executed ? Why,
6. Our Lord sends his messengers, ministers of the gospel, out
into the world among those of Satan's family, to proclaim the ofter
of adoption unto them, that whosoever of them will leave their fa-
ther's house and people, shall be adopted into the family of heaven.
This is offered to them and it is pressed upon them by many argu-
ments and intreaties to accept and come away. By their mouths
the Lord cries to them, 2 Cor. vi. 17, 18. ' Wherefore come yo out
from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch
not the unclean thing ; and I will receive you, and will be a Father
unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord
Almighty.' Psal. xlv. 10. ' JJearken, 0 daughter, and consider,
and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's
house.' They expose the nakedness of their father's house to them.
They tell them, that he is a cruel and deceitful father, John viii. 44.
that he treats them as slaves, not as sons, 2 Tim. ii. ult, that the
entertainment of his house is wretched and beggarly, that they have
nothing to eat but dust with the serpent, or husks with the swine ;
that their work is base, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and mind ;
the wages, death ; and that he has no inheritance to give them but
what will make them eternally miserable. On the other hand, they
commend the family of heaven, the Father of the family, the enter-
tainment, the work, wages, inheritance, &c.
Hereupon the father of the family rages, and stirs up the children
against them and their message. Sometimes he raises the family
against them, and all that take part with them, and they set upon
them violently, and knock them down, and despitefully use them,
by persecutions, &c. so that many have lost their lives in the cause,
for presuming to disturb that family. "When he cannot get that
done, he teaches them to stop their ears, that, if they must speak,
what they say shall not get access into their hearts, Psal. Iviii. 4,
5. And thus the most part of the family get a deafness that
abides Avith them, and grows more and more to their dying day, and
they are never cured of it.
7. But unto the elect among them God sends his Spirit, which
opens their ears, awakens their conscience, and rouses them so, tliat
they can no longer miss to hear, and understand too, what concerns
themselves and both the families. Job xxxvi. 10. And then that
makes deep impression on them, which the rest of the family do not
at all regard ; that makes them wake, while their brethren about
2e2
620 OF ADOl'TION.
them are fast asleep. They see the lire of heaven ready to full
upon the house, see through the murdering designs of their father ;
they see how they are entertained but with vain hopes, and deluded,
in that upper house for a while, till he may get them conveyed into
the lower house. And so they set off to come out from among them,
and be separate, that they may be received into the family of hea-
ven. But,
8. Then their natural fatlier bestirs himself with all his might
to stop their coming out from that family, and that separation. He
will set their brethi'en on them, whereof some will try to mock them
from it, others with serpentine wisdom gravely to advise them
against the fancy; others which is most dangerous, to entangle
them in the work and entertainment of their father's house. Him-
self will attack them with flatteries, spread out his baits and allure-
ments of temptation, promise them peace, allow them an indulgence,
not to be so hard put to it in his work as before, change their work
from the coarser to the finer, represent the family of heaven in base
colours, that there is no liberty there, but they are pent up to in-
tolerable strictness, &c. But if that will not do, he will fall on
them with rage, and tell them, that there is no room now in the
family of heaven for them, that they have been too long among
them to come out and be separate now ; that they are his, and he
will not part with them, and therefore they may give it over. And
thus, by the flatteries or the rage, some are prevailed with to turn
back again, and settle down again in their father's house, like
Orphah returning to her gods, after she had set oflT from them, Ruth
i. 15. But,
9. The Spirit of Christ presses forward the elect, and determines
them to seek to be received into the family of God, John vi. 45.
He is to them a Spirit of light and faith ; thereby they discover
that there is some hope, concerning their case, that even they may
be received into the family. So they that are eff"ectually determined
to leave their father's house, not to stay there, come of them what
will, to come to the Lord and sue for reception, not to depart, if
they should die at his door.
10. Hereupon the soul comes away to Christ, the elder brother
of the family, and of our nature ; and joins himself to him by faith,
and is received, John vi. 37- takes hold of the offer of the marriage-
covenant, and consents to the spiritual marriage with him who is
the Heir of all things, and the Son of God, and so becomes his by a
marriage-tie. Cant. ii. 16. The soul drawn by the Spirit to him
whose name is the Branch, is put into that branch, being cut off
from the natural stock, and knits therewith by faith. Thus the
OF ADOPTION. 621
soul is imited to Christ, justified, and reconciled to God, and set
beyond the reach of the curse.
11. Lastly, Upon this follows the adoption of the believer, who
now has received and is ingrafted into Christ, John i. 12, Being
brought out of the state of coudcranation by justification, he is fur-
ther dignified by a reception as a member into the family of heaven.
(1.) The Lord Jesus presents unto the Father, the Adopter and
Judge, the party to be adopted into his family, Heb. ii. 13. as Jo-
seph did Ephraira and Manasseh to Jacob. And he presents him
for adoption, as one that, though by nature he be of a strange
family, yet is now his own child by the sjnritual birth, being born
of his Spirit. As an elder brother, he presents the believer as his
brother by common human nature ; and as the head and husband,
presents the soul as his spouse by marriage-covenant. He pleads
his purchase of believers by the price of his blood, and their actual
relation to him ; and that therefore in fulfilment of his Father's de-
cree, they be adopted by him, Eph. 1. 5.
(2.) The natural father, the devil, upon the account of the pur-
chase made of his child by Jesus Christ, and the child's lawful re-
nouncing of his power and family, and coming unto Christ, is obliged
to renounce and give up with him, as no member of his family any
more, though sore against his will. If he appear in this judgment
to defend his own interest, as Satan stood at Joshua's i-ight hand
to resist him, Zech. iii. 1. the Mediator stops his mouth, as ver. 2.
' Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire ?'
(3.) Lasthi, The Father of our Lord Jesus, for the sake of his
Son, receives the believer into the number of his children, saying in
effect. As the man Christ and the angel Gabriel, ye are mine, and
shall be mine ; and as a Judge, he adjudges the believer to be his
child, and the relation betwixt him and his natural father ex-
tinguished, Isa. xlix. 24, 25. as having purchased them with the
blood of his dear Son ; and farther gives them a right to the privi-
leges of his sons.
Thus is the glorious benefit brought about, by the Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost, and the elect soul adopted into the family of hea-
ven. And this consists of two parts.
First, The adopted are received into the number of the sons of
God. God becomes a Father to them, and they his sons and daugh-
ters. His family consists of many children, each one for holiness
and happiness illustrious; all resembling, what indeed they are, the
children of a king. They are taken by adoption out of the black
number of the devil's family, consisting of devils, damned spirits,
and an unconverted world, bearing the devil's image. And they
2 K 3
G22 OF ADOl'TION.
are taken into tlio blessed number of the sons of God, wliereot liis
family consists. And wlio are tlicy that make up that number?
1. Jesus Christ the Son of Clod by eternal generation, who has
taken on our nature, and was declared the Son of Grod by his resur-
rection, Psal. ii. 7. He is one of the number they are received into,
and therefore is not ashamed to call them brethren, Heb. ii. 7.
And who can recount the dignity of being of that number, whereof
he is one ; he who is the brightness of his Father's glory, the lumi-
nary of heaven, Rev. xxi. 22. whose splendour is greater than sun
and moon ? He is the chief of that number, the eldest brother, not
only in respect of men, but of angels. To him belongs the domi-
nion, priesthood, the blessing, and the double portion. And it is fit,
that while we reckon him one of the number, we notice well his pre-
eminence over all the rest, remembering the dignity of the eldest
brother.
(1.) The dominion is his, the supremacy and royalty belongs unto
him, and our Father has solemnly invested him therewith, Psal. ii.
6. Though all his brethren are the children of the King, yet he
alone is the heir of the crown. On this Lion of the tribe of Judah
the kingdom is settled, and the sceptre is given him over all the
glorious family of his brethren, who are in number as the sand of
the sea. Col. i. 18. Him must all his brethren praise, to him must
they bow down, Gen. xlix. 8. Heb. i. 6. The sceptre put into his
hand shall never depart.
(2.) The priesthood is his. In him the crown and the mitre both
meet together, Zecli. vi. 13. ' He shall sit and rule upon his throne ;
and he shall be a i>riest upon his throne.' God hath given him an
eternal and unchangeable priesthood, confirmed by an oath, Psal,
ex. 4. He hath oflTered his sacrifice, and gone into the holy of
holies in heaven with the blood of atonement. He hath redeemed
men and confirmed angels, being made their head, Eph. i. 10.
Whatever sacrifices we have to offer, God saith of Christ to us, as
of Job to his friends, ' Go to my servant Job, and ofl^er up for your-
selves a burnt-ofl:ering ; and my servant Job shall pray for you ; for
him will I accept,' chap. xlii. 8. For to him it belongs to ofi'er for
the family.
(3.) The blessing is his. Though all the children be blessed, yet
the eldest brother had a peculiar blessing allotted to him above all
the rest. Therefore said Isaac, ' Thy brother hath taken away thy
blessing,' Gen. xxvii. 35. So our Lord Christ hath received the pe-
culiar blessing of his Father, Rom. ix. 5. He is the fountain
and storehouse of blessing to all the family. Others receive the
blessing iu the capacity of a vessel to serve themselves, he in the
OF ADOPTIOJf. 623
capacity of a fountain, to shed abroad unto others. And tlicy
whom he blesses shall be blessed indeed.
(4.) Lastly, The double portion of our Father's goods is his, as
that is understood, 2 Kings ii. 9. The greatest fulness that ever
any had was never comparable to him, who is anointed with the oil
of gladness above his fellows, Psal. xlv. 7- Whatever portion of
the Spirit men or angels are partakers of, it is still by a certain
measure ; but God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him, John
iii. 34. For the fulness of tlie Godhead dwells in him bodily. Col.
ii. 9. And accordingly his glory in heaven is without a j)arallel
among his brethren, who shall all be glorious : but they receive and
borrow their light from him, he gives it. Rev. xxi. 23.
2. Angels, the sons of God by creation. Job xxxviii. 7- They are
of this number, and are an innumerable company of pure, and spot-
less, and glorious spirits, all sons of the house, with whom the
adopted are fellow children of God, Ileb. xii. 22. The angelical
nature in itself is far more honourable tlian man's, seeing they are
pure spirits, not clogged with bodies, as we are ; therefore says tlic
Psalmist of man, ' Thou hast made him a little lower than the
angels, Psal. viii. 5. And they have never been polluted with sin,
as we are. Yet they own themselves the brethren of the adopted
saints even in this life. Nay, they are content to be ministering
spirits to them, even as the grown children of a family are em-
ployed to take care of the little children, their brothers and sisters,
not capable to take care of themselves, Heb. i. ult.
3. Lob-tli/, The saints in heaven and earth, sons of God by regene-
ration and adoption, Eph. iii. 15. The saints on earth are the ex-
cellent upon it, more excellent than their neighbours. And as soon
as one is adopted of God, he has them all for brothers and sisters ;
and so there is a special love among them, as betwixt the children
of one family, 1 John iii. 14. Nay, they are in the same relation to
the saints in heaven, and incorporated with them, Ueb. xii. 23.
Though they are very far above us, yet we are children of God as
well as they, as the little ones are as truly of the family as the sons
of perfect age ; and as that part of the family that dwells in the
lower rooms, as well as those that are advanced to tlie higher.
This is that glorious number the adopted are received into ; with
these they are counted. All these have one and the same Father,
God, John XX. 17 ; the same elder brother, Christ; and do all make
up one family, whereof thu elder brother is the head, wliose head is
God.
Use. Sue for this adoption, aud for being received into this
number; and for thi.s cause come out from among the world lying iii
624 OF ADOPTION".
wickedness, and be ye separate. There is a feast before us made
for the children. It is a sad token for people never to partake of
the childrens' bread, but ever to stand at a distance as strangers to
the family : and what concern can there be iu the sjiirits of these
for the privileges of God's invisible family, that have no concern for
the privileges of his visible family on earth ? On the other hand, it
is dangerous to intrude among the children, while one is not of the
family; to come in among the children of God at the Lord's table,
while they are not come out from among the children of Satan.
This adoption is in your offer. Ye that are of the black number
this day, may be received into this number so honourable and glo-
rious. If ye believe these things, they cannot but move you to
come away, and join yourselves to the household of God.
Secondly, They get a right to the privileges of the sons of God.
These are great privileges, even agreeable to the dignity of the fa-
mily they are taken into. I shall lay these before you, to move
you to seek to partake of this benefit.
1. A new name, Rev. ii. 17- and iii. 12. God's name is put upon
them ; and what is that, but, as it is in the text, their old name is
for ever laid aside : they are no more called children of the devil,
but the sons and daughtei's of God. They are called of God sons
and daughters, Heb. sii. 5. Let the world call them what names of
contempt they will, God will call them by most endearing and ho-
nourable names, as his ti'easure, Exod. xix. 5 ; his jewels, Mai. iii.
17. See the whole Song of Solomon.
2. The Spirit of adoption, Rom. viii. 15. That is the spirit of the
family of heaven, a noble and generous spirit, a spirit of love to
God, aud confidence in him as a Father. Hereby they are enabled
to call God Father, aud that is more worth than a thousand worlds.
The rest of the world call him Lord, the hypocrite Master ; but the
believer may call him Father, at all times, in all the changes of his
dispensations ; for Abba is a word that, read it backward or for-
ward, is still the same. He disoAvns others' pretences to this, John
viii. 41, 44; but he presses it on and teaches it his own, Jer. iii. 4.
' Wilt thou not from tliis time cry unto me, My Father?'
3. Access to God and communion with him. They may come far-
ther in than others, come forward with holy boldness, when others
must stand back, Eph. iii. 12. God as a Father is familiar with his
children, allows them a holy confidence with him, as children to
l)our their complaints into his bosom, and tell him all their wants.
And never did a father take so much delight in his child's talking
to him, as God, in the prayers of his people poured out, by virtue
of the Spirit of adoption, Prov. xv. 8. Cant. ii. 14.
OP ADOPTION. 625
4. Special immuuities and freedoms. King's children liaA'e great
immunities, Matth. xvii. 26. but God's children the greatest of all.
"While others are condemned men, slaves, servants at best ; the
children are free. They are freed from the law as a covenant of
works, the yoke wreathed about all others' necks. Others must
vork for their living, and must die, if they cannot gain life thereby :
but their life is given them without it, as children. They are free
from the curse, Avhich is clapt on others, upon every breach of the
law. Gal. iii. 10 ; but their breaches may bring on them a cross, but
by no means a curse, ver. 13. They are free from the hurt of every
thing in the issue, Luke x. 19 ; while others are liable to be worsted
by the best things, they shall not be so, Rom. viii. 35, 38, 39 ; but
bettered by the worst things that befal them, ver. 28.
5. God's fatherly love and pity. The little children, while in
this woi'ld are liable to many infirmities, and he distinguishes their
weakness from wickedness and pities them, Psal. ciii. 13. And the
elder brother is touched with a feeling of them, Heb. iv. 15. No
bowels are so tender and lasting as God's towards his children ; no
mother so tender of the fruit of her womb as God is of his children,
Isa. xlix. 15. When he corrects them, he does it with a fatherly
reluctance. Lam. iii. 33. When he gives them a frown or a rough
word, his bowels yearn towards them, and their relentings go near
his heart, Jer. xxx. 20. His anger is soon over, in comparison of
the cloud of wrath that abides on others, though they are ready to
look on it as a kind of eternity ; but his returning mercies are last-
ing, Isa. liv. 8. And from tlii.s pity many times he spares them,
when otherwise they would heavily smart, Mai. iii. 17-
6. Protection, Prov. xiv. 26. They are in danger while they are
here, from the devil, the world and the flesh ; in danger by tempta-
tions to sin, by calamities ; but God sets a hedge about them, which
neither devils nor tlieir agents can break over, but as he opens a
gap by his permission for their trial, Job i. 10. In all cases they
have a Father to run to, both able and Avilling to protect them,
Psal. xc. 1. When they fall into the hand of their enemies, they
are mercifully delivered, and never left with them, Psal. xxxvii. 14.
And at length he will set them beyond all danger. Rev. xxi. 25.
7. Provision, 1 Pet. v. 7- He provides for their souls. Psalm
Ixxxiv. 11. And since he is the God of the whole man, he provides
for their bodies too, both food and raiment, Isa. xxxiii. 16. Matth.
vi. 30, 32. Come what will, God's children shall be provided for;
for he that feeds his birds, the ravens that cry, will not starve his
children. Though lie will not make provision for their lusts, he
will make provision for their necessities, Psal. xxxvii. 3.
626 OF ADOPTION.
8. Seasonable and sanctified correction. What is a proper pun-
ishment and a sign of wrath on others, is a privilege to them, Heb.
xii. 6. It is a special benefit of the covenant of grace, proceeding
from God's fatherly love, Psal. Ixxxix. 30 — 32. Some smart more
for a whorish look after an idol, than others for giving themselves a
full swing in their evil way ; some more for deadness and indisposi-
tion in prayer, than others for neglecting it altogether, &c. For a
small fault in a child whoso education the father has a peculiar con-
cern for, will be more severely checked than a greater in a stranger.
9. Lastly, An inheritance and portion, according to their Father's
quality. They are heirs of God, and joint-heii's Avith Christ, Ilom.
viii. 17. So all is theirs, grace and glory. Their portion will never
fail, but tell out through eternity, when the Y)ortion of worldly men
shall be at an end, 1 Pet. i. 4. Their Father gives them of his
moveables, as he sees meet ; but their inheritance is not moveable,
Heb. xii. 28.
THIRDLY, The next thing is to shew the properties of this
adoption.
1. It is a precious and costly relation. There was a price, a
great one, paid to instate the sinner in this privilege. What the
chief captain said to Paul in another c?.se, ' With a great sum ob-
tained I this freedom,' Acts xxii. 28. a child of God may say con-
cerning himself, though he paid not that sum himself, Gal. iv. 4, 5.
The Son of God, Christ, bought them by his obedience and death.
That is the price of our adoption.
2. It is a high and honourable one, John i. 12. As low as we
naturally are, adopting grace raiseth us to the highest pitch of ho-
nour we are capable of; to be brethren of angels, yea, of Christ,
and the children of God. ' Seemeth it a small thing to you to be
son-in-law to the king ?' said David ; but how much more to be the
sons and daughters of the King of heaven.
3. It is freely bestowed, Eph. i. 5. There is nothing in the
adopted naturally, more than in the rest of their natural father's
house, to move God to pitch on them rather than others, so that it
is free grace merely that makes the diiYerence. Neither birth, nor
beauty, nor parts, can be here alleged, Ezek. xvi. Neither was it
from indigence, as among men, that God adopted any of the chil-
dren of men, but from his own bountiful nature : not to bring any
additional pleasure or comfort to himself, for he needs none, but to
make them partakers of his goodness.
4. Lastli/, It is a never-failing relation. Once a child of God,
ever so, 1 John viii. 35. If a child wander from his father's house,
he will bo sought and brought back again ; so the children of God
OF ADOPTION. 627
shall persevere in the state of grace. A serA^ant of the hoxisc of
heaven may be turned out of doors, and quite leave their master,
2 Pet. ii. 1. yea, a natural son may also perish or be lost. So Adam
was turned out, so the fallen angels never recovered. But God's
adopted children can never fall totally away, Psal. Ixxxix. 30, — 34.
Use 1. Of information. Is adoption into God's family the pecu-
liar privilege of those that are eflectually called ? Then,
1. The gospel-calling is the highest calling men are capable of,
Phil. iii. 14. It calls men to the dignity of the sons of God. And
they that undervalue it shew themselves sons of earth, that know
not the things of God. It might draw tears of pity from the eyes
God has enlightened, to think how the gospel-call is slighted, as
idle tales, how men value themselves on trifles and baubles of this
world, and think the compliance with the gospel-call a vain thing :
and all this by men whose eyes the god of this world has blinded,
2 Cor. iv. 3, 4. wlio trample on the pearl, because they know not
the value of it.
2. The unconverted man is of Satan's family still, a child of the
devil, for he is not adopted into God's family, John viii. 44. Many
a gospel-call has sounded in your ears, sinner, hast thou not come
away on the call ? then thou art yet a child of the devil. Acts xiii.
10. and therefore an heir of hell and of wrath. Perhaps thou wilt
not believe this, and never couldst : but that is agreeable enough to
the blindness of the children of the family of darkness, Rev. iii. 17-
Whose image dost thou bear ? Holiness is God's image, unholiness
the devil's. Thy dark heai't and unholy life plainly tell the family
thou art of.
3. The unconverted man has no right before the Lord to sit down
at the Lord's table. It is children's bread, and not to be cast to
the dogs. Matt. xv. 26. It is true, men that make a credible profes-
sion of their repentance have a right before the church ; for of the
heart in that case men cannot judge. But a token from an angel
will not bear out a child of the devil, at God's table before the
Lord. God makes this feast for his children; and if God had not
childi-en to feed here, it would not be prepared : but wo to those
that come in among them, not having sincerely forsaken their na-
tural father's house, and their own people. Will he welcome the
children of his grand enemy among his own? No surely. Therefore
first comply with the gospel-call, ' Come out from among them, and
be ye separate.' Come to Christ, that ye may bo entered into God's
family by adoption, and then come to his table.
4. Compliance with the gospel-call brings with it a right to the
table of the Lord. This do, and ye shall be ado]>te<l into his fa-
628 OF ADorTiox.
mily, and have a right to the priAnleges thereof. This answers the
question, How may we be fitted for the Lord's table ? The gospel
calls you to come away, forget your own people, and your father's
house, the entertainment, work, and business thereof. Give up with
all your lusts and idols, receive Christ for your Prophet, Priest,
and King ; enter into the covenant sincerely. And Christ's Fa-
ther shall be your Father, and then ye shall he fitted to come to
his table, and have the children's portion.
5. A true Christian is more excellent than his neighbour, Prov.
xii. 26. A godly man is more preferable to a wicked man, than a
king's son is to the son of a slave, though in external things the
latter may have the pre-eminence. A saint in rags is a child of
God, while the wicked laded with honours and wealth is a child of
the devil. The former has privileges as far above those of the
other, as the heavens are above the earth. 0 ! if this were be-
lieved, people would more eagerly pursue after grace than gold, and
seek the state of grace more thau all the world can afford.
6. See hence the spring of the hatred of the world against the
people of God, that has vented itself in all the abuses they have
met with from the wicked. They are of opposite families, that will
never agree, John xv. 19. Hence it is that the love of the brethren
is made a sign of a child of God, 1 John iii. 14. And to be haters
and despisers of them, is a black mark. But look abroad through
the world, and ye will see, that if there be persons who hate to be
restrained, but can take a latitude to themselves, these are the men.
But as for others that dare not go into the same excess of riot, who
tremble at the Lord's word, and carry at a distance from the ap-
pearance of evil, these are ready to be maligned, mocked, and de-
spised, as men of no spirit, because not of the spirit of the devil's
family. Nay, not only is the world's contempt and spite against
the children, but against the very servants, whom the world despise
oft-times for no other reason, but because they are servants, and
concerned in the church, which is God's family on earth. Unlike
the disposition of God's children, Psal. Ixxxiv. 10. who say, ' A day
in thy courts is better than a thousand : I had rather be a door-
keeper in the house of my God, thau to dAvell in the tents of
wickedness.'
7. Lastly, The people of God are brethren, and slionld live to-
gether in peace and unity and love, as brethren. 0 how unnatural
are the jarrings and discords among those that profess to be of the
same family of heaven ! Our heavenly Father setting his children
on their way home together, says, as Joseph said to his brethren,
' See that ye fall not out by the way,' Gen. xlv. 24. Lay by all
OF ADOPTION. 629
feuds and discords among yourselves, forgive as ye ^vould be for-
given. And especially I warn all against approaching to the table
of the Lord, in the leaven of bitterness, malice, and revenge, keeping
up their quarrels. It is a feast for the children of the family, seal-
ing our communion with one another; a seal of the pardon of sin,
and reconciliation with God, which we cannot have unless we for-
give others from the heart. Mat. vi. 15. Therefore remember, that
' if thon bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy
brother hath ought against thee ; leave there thy gift before the
altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then
come and offer thy gift,' chap. v. 23, 24.
Use II. Try whether ye be the children of God, adopted into
God's family or not. To quicken you hereto, consider,
3fot. 1. Ye were born children of the devil's family; he was your
natural father, and there is no middle state betwixt the two fami-
lies. Still ye belong either to the one or the other. Does it not
concern you then to search which of the two ye are now of ; whether
ye be come out from among them, or are still living with them,
among whom ye were born ?
2. This matter is of the strictest weight. Upon the one hand,
are the most excellent privileges which it is sad to lose ; and on the
other, the most dreadful disadvantages, which it is terrible to lie
under. They differ as heaven and hell ; and indeed your eternal
state turns upon this point. If ye be children of God, heaven shall
be your mansion ; if not, hell your everlasting abode.
3. Many deceive themselves in this poiut. They call God Father,
whom he will never own for his children, John viii. 41, 44. They
look for the privileges of his children, who will be disowned, as chil-
dren of Satan. And 0 what a terrible surprise will that be, to be
cast down from the highest hopes to the lowest pitch of despair !
4. Lastly, This trial is at all times necessary, but especially on
occasion of the sacrament, 1 Cor. xi. 28. ' Wherefore let a man ex-
amine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that
cup.' To clear this, is to clear your right to that holy ordinance.
The children whom God has taken into his family by adoption, he
has prepared that table for, and for none else. Others are debarred
as none of his family, but of the family of Satan. They are bid
welcome as his own children, for whose nourishment, growth, and
comfort, he has prepared it. Ye may know this by the following
marks.
Mark 1. The image ye bear. Children are like their father, and
all God's children father themselves. I allude to Judges viii. 18.
They each one resemble the children of a king. Look to thy own
630 OF ADOPTION.
soul, and say as Christ of the tribute-money, ' Wliosc image and
sni)erscription is this ?' The image of God may shine more l>rightly
in one than another, in one person at one time more than another;
but his image is on all his children, 2 Cor. iii. 18. If thou bearest
his image, thou wilt be like him.
1. In the head, for there will be spiritual and saving knowledge,
Col. iii. 10. He is ' the Father of lights,' and his children are ' chil-
dren of light,' Eph. V. 8. Ye that are yet living in your natural
darkness, with whom there has been no morning to put an end to
the darkness of a natural state, are yet of the family of Satan ; and
particularly grossly ignorant ones are so, Isa. xxvii. 11. For
though some of -God's children may not be book-learned, they are
all Spirit-learned, John vi. 45. But if God has enlightened your
darkness and ye are renewed in knowledge, it is a good sign if ye
are let into the knowledge of God and sj)iritual things, by the work-
ing of the Spirit of the Lord on you.
It is true, there is a false light, and a vaiu knowledge of spiri-
tual things, even in the devil's family; but saving knowledge is, (1.)
Solid and humbling, Job xlii. 5, 6 ; and the more a man has of it,
he is the more vile in his own eyes : the other is airy and windy,
1 Cor. viii. 1. Knowledge puffeth up, and makes a man think him-
self something, when he is nothing. (2.) Lively and sanctifying,
John xiii. 17- When the Spirit came on the primitive Church, Acts
ii. 3. there appeared tongues like fire : so true knowledge has a heat
with it, to burn up known sin, and to burn toward known duty.
They know and desire to know, in order to practise. The other is
a sort of wild fire, that has light with it, but no heat ; meet enough
to lead i^eople to the pit, where there is a burning heat but no light,
1 Cor. viii. 1. Unholy ministers and professors, that have know-
ledge, they are like gentlemen skilled in architecture ; all the use
they have for it, is to tell how a house should be built, and draw
the draughts, but they never lay a stone. The child of God is like
the mason that learns the trade, to the end he may work in it daily.
The former may have more of the theory than the latter, aud can
talk more rationally about it ; but they are not called masons : the
latter have more of the practice, so the name is theirs. Even so in
spirituals, men not enlightened in the knowledge of God, so as to
practise it in works of holiness, are not called of God Christians.
(3.) Lastly, Experimental aud savoury, Phil. iii. 9. The child of
God feels the power of truth on his soul. He sees the glory of
Christ and religion, aud he loves them, and is touched with the
overcoming beauty. He feels the ill of sin, and he is put in horror
with the deformity of it, 1 Peter ii. 3. The other is speculative, un-
OF AD01'TI0?f.
631
Iclt, untried, 1 Cor. xiii. 1. — 3. They speak of religion as a parrot,
without the sense or knowledge of the things themselves, as a man
does of war that was never at a battle, or one of sweet spices that
he never saw, 1 Tim. i. 7.
2. In heart. Children readily partake of the disposition of their
parents ; so that as they are like them in the face, they are like
them in their manners too. The child of God gets a new heart,
Ezek. xxxvi. 26. So righteousness and holiness are parts of the
image of God, Eph. iv. 24. Every child of God is in some measure
like David, a man after God's own heart. The heart that was bent
to evil, gets a set to the right side ; the heart that was enmity
against God, is turned to him. So that the soul loves what God
loves, hates what he hates, sorrows for what grieves his Spii'it, re-
joices in what is acceptable to him. These are the upright and
pure in heart in a gospel sense, Matth. v. 8.
But some will say. Well, I keei) always a good heart to God.
Others, Alas ! the heart is the worst bit in me, where I can see the
least likeness to God. Ans. Many that are first shall be last, and
the last shall be first. The heart is both the best and worst bit in
man. The best, Prov. iv. 23 ; the worst, Jer. xvii. 9. And there-
fore I conclude, that the former sort are none of the children of
God, because they are blind, and mistake the Avorst part of them
for the best, the chambers of imagery for the temple of God, Rev.
iii. 17. Prov. xxx. 12. The latter sort may be God's children ; for
that which makes the heart to be both the best and worst part, is,
that in every heart of God's family on earth, there is a renewed
part, the spirit ; and an unrenewed part, the flesh. Gal. v. 17 ; the
one the best part, the other the worst. So that this holds of the
children of God ; for the best part of an unrenewed man is his life,
be it never so bad, his heart is always worse, as the fountain is
worse than the stream, Mark vii. 21. Now, the child of God, look-
ing on the unrenewed part of the heart, sees the worst bit in him :
but if he look to the renewed part, it is the best for all that, better
than his life, Psal. xlv. 13 ; be it never so good, Matth. xxvi. 41.
The heart of a child of God is a roomy house ; and grace and cor-
ruption in that heart are like two flitters, one going out of the
house, the other coming into it. The outgoing tenant is loath to
leave the house, makes no speed to lift his plenishing, but as the in-
comer lifts it for him to make room for his own. So here lies the
one's furniture, there the other's in and about the same house.
Even so God's good things that he has in a saint, and the devil's
evil things that he has in liim, are both to be found in the house of
the heart, and standing about the door in the life. In the heart of
632 OF ADOPTION.
a child of God, upon the one hand lies God's plenishing, faith, hu-
mility, meekness, &c. on the other, Satan's, unbelief, pride, passion,
&c. ; with this difference, that the latter is nearest the door, and all
lifted out of their place, which they sometimes stood in, when they
had the house there alone.
But what the differencing mark here of a heart on which God's
likeness is, is, that the law of God is written on that heart, Ileb.
viii. 10. This is the peculiar privilege of a child of God. And it
speaks three things.
(1.) A heart-approbation of the law. The law of God is holy
and pure, condemning all impurity wherever it is found. But a
child of God heartily approves of it, even though it strike against
his most beloved idols. He approves of it in his judgment, as just
and righteous ; and not only so, but in his practical judgment, as
good as well as just, Rom. vii. 12 ; which evidences the natural en-
mity to be broken, and the heart new moulded, Rom. viii. 7-
(2.) A heart-inclination to the holy law. There is a principle
within the man lying the same way with the law, and bending to-
wards what it directs to, and away from what it forbids, Rom. vii.
22. And though there be a contrary principle to this, which
thwarts and crosses it, yet the child of God takes part with the
former against the latter, and is striving and longing to be rid of it,
Rom. vii. 24. This is the new set of the heart, given in the new
birth, consisting not in bare wishes to be conformed to that law, but
in a resolute bent of the heart for it, which will never leave its
struggling, till it overcome at last. And,
(3.) An universality in both, Psal. cxix. 6. It is not some shreds
and pieces of the law that the heart approves of and inclines to, but
the whole law, in every part thereof to them known, ver. 128. The
holy law in all the parts thereof is a copy of the holy divine nature,
and it is transcribed into the heart of the child of God, in so far as
there are gracious inclinations wrought in the soul answerable to
the several points of the law, as the wax bears the impress of the
seal, John i. 16. So that try the child of God in his weakest side,
this approbation and inclination will be found, Psal. xviii. 23.
3. In their walk, Eph. v. 1. As children follow their father's
footsteps, the children of God follow their heavenly Father. We
have had the way of our Father, God, chalked out to us in the way
our Lord took, and we must prove our sonship by following his
steps, 1 John ii. 6. He walked in the way of humility, meekness,
self-denial, and heavenly-mindedness ; and if we be following his
steps in sincerity, conscientiously aiming at these things, it is an
evidence we are the children of God.
OF ADOPTION. G33
Particularly, the way of love to men was a notable road of his,
which we must follov/, Eph. v. 2. A spirit of bitterness, fieryness.
and selfishness, whatever men pi'ofess, is a black mark, it is so very
unlike Christ's way. And although the loving and seeking the
good of our friends is so very rare in the world, and people
generally hesitate not to return evil for evil, nay, many times
working mischief to them that never wronged them ; yet the loving
of our enemies, as Christ loved his, and doing them good as we have
opportunity, is absolutely necessary to evidence us to be the chil-
dren of God, Matth. v. 44, 46.
Mark 2. By your affections to the family of God. A child of
God has child-like affections to the family of heaven. Nature
teaches us a special affection to our relations ; and the new nature
and state teaches the same to the heavenly family, betwixt whom
there is a spiritual bond. Try the pulse of your affections, thereby
to see your state.
1. A child of God has a child-like love and affection to God as
his Father, and to Christ as his Elder Brother. This is a sure
mark, 1 John iv. 19. They bear a sui)erlative, transcendent love to
God and Christ, loving him above all persons, and all things. He
is dearer to them than lawful or unlawful enjoyments, Psalm Ixxiii.
25. And this love will manifest itself.
(1.) In honouring him as a father, Mai. i. 6. A child of God has
an honour for him, which the rest of the world have not. He sees a
glory, loveliness, and majesty in him above all other, 1 Pet. ii. 7.
which produces a love mixed with reverence, that makes up the
child-like disposition. — These are separated in others. The pre-
sumptuous hypocrite seems to have a love to him, but they want
reverence, and their pretended familiarity breeds contempt. The
unrenewed heart, under convictions of sin and duty, has a slavish
fear of him, but no love to him. But the child of God has love
mixed with reverence.
(2.) A conscientious obedience to his commands, 1 John v. 3.
The father's command is a sufficient bond of obedience on a kindly
child ; and so is God's on those that are his. — It is lamentable to
think of the horrid untenderness and woful latitude that many take
to themselves, whose conscience can witness, that God's command,
though known, has not the weight of a feather on their consciences,
in many things ; especially where their own interest is concerned, or
in things that are thought light of by the world. But a child of
God has weighty thoughts of God's authority, smiles, and frowns,
and will rather venture the displeasing of any than his Father.
(3.) In submitting to his chastisements, Micah vii. 9, ' I bear the
23
634 OF ADOPTIOX.
indignation of the Lord,' says the prophet, ' because I have sinned
against him.' It is the disposition of a child of God, to justify God
under the rebukes of providence, to condemn himself, and turn to
the hand that smiteth.
(4.) In his absence from them, and displeasure against them, it is
the disposition of a child of God, (1.) To take his absence heavily;
so the spouse is heart-sick when her beloved is gone, a thing that
many are very little acquainted with. Cant. v. 8. (2.) To justify
him in his withdrawings ; the soul leaves its complaint on itself,
Psal. xxii. 1, 3. (3.) To long for his return and countenance, with
a holy impatience, as Sisera's mother. Judges v. 28. ' "Why is his
chariot so long in coming ? why tarry the wheels of his chariot ?'
Psal. Ixiii. 1. ' 0 God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee : my
soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty
land, where no water is.' (4.) To take rest in nothing while he
hides his face, "Worldly comforts, yea, gospel-ordinances, are sap-
less without him. Still they say with Job, ' 0 that I knew where I
might find him !' Job xxiii, 3. Lastly, To use all endeavours to find
him, as the spouse did, Cant. v.
(5.) Lastly, In his presence with them, and the outlettings of him-
self to them. (1.) To be well content in the enjoyment of himself
Instead of all things, Psal. iv. 6, 7. (2.) To be inflamed with love
to him, Luke xxiv. 32. (3.) To be desiring more and more of his
presence, Cant. viii. 6. (4.) To like well the full enjoyment in hea-
ven, Phil. 1. 23. (5.) To be loath to part. Cant. iii. 5.
And to clear yet moi'e this mark of love to God,
[1.] It is love to God for himself; not only for what he has to
give us, as the hypocrite's servile love is ; but also for what he is in
himself, Psal. xlv. 2. ' Thou art fairer than the sons of men : grace
is poured into thy lips : therefore God hath blessed thee for ever,
Psal. Ixxiii. 25. ' Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is
none upon the earth that I desire besides thee.' They love him in
all his perfections, particularly for his holiness and spotless purity,
Psal. xcvii. 12. ' Ye that love the Lord, hate evil.'
[2.] They love what is his for his sake. His stamp and image on
any thing makes it lovely to them, Psal. xxvi. 8. ' Lord,' says
David, ' I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place
where thine honour dwelleth.' Hence they love his truths, ordinan-
ces, and people. Which brings to a second particular.
2. He has a love to the brethren of the family, 1 John iii. 14.
For clearing this mark, consider,
(1.) It is a love to them as such, for the image of God appearing
in them. When we love the godly for their godliness, the saints for
OP ADOPTION. 635
their sanctity, we love God in them, and so may conclude, 'that
every one that loveth him that begat, loveth hira also that is begot-
ten of him,' 1 John v. 1. Hyi^ocrites may love saints, because of
natural relation to them, their obliging conversation, their being of
their way or opinion, and the like : but happy those who love them
for naked grace in them, that pick the pearl out of the dunghill of
many unpleasiug things about them, and kindly love them for that.
(2.) It is an universal love, to all the saints, Eph. i. 15. A child
of God will love all who to his discerning bear God's image : not
only the saints in gay clothing, but going in rags ; not only those
that are of our way, but of whatever party they be, if they agree
with him in bearing God's image.
(3.) Lastly, The more grace any have, they will have the more of
the love of the child of God. The more like our heavenly Father,
the more we will love them, since that likeness is the cause of the
love.
Mark nit. By your spirit. A child of God has the spirit of the
family of heaven ; the Spirit of adoption, Rom. viii. 15. Now, the
Spirit of adoption is,
1. A Spirit of prayer, ib. This casts all prayerless persons that
are come to years of discretion, as none of God's children. As it
also casts all those, who, though they have a gift of prayer, and use
it too, yet are strangers to the spirit of prayer. Now, the spirit of
prayer makes spiritual worship, John iv. 24 ; that is, by the Spirit
he is helped to praying affections, seeking the enjoyment of God
himself in the duty, and has his love, faith, humility, dependence on
the Lord's word through Christ, his sense of wants, sincere desire of
supply, &c. stirred up in him by the Spirit, Rom. viii. 26.
2. A spirit of liberty, not of bondage, ib. The Spirit of adoption
carries a man out from the influence of the covenant of works, so
that he does not serve God as a slave, merely or mainly for fear of
punishment, or hope of reward ; but as a son does a father, out of
love.
3. Lastly, A noble spirit, that raiseth a man's thoughts, aims, and
designs, beyond the little mean things of this world ; making him
resolute for the enjoyment of God at any rate, and the land that is
afar off. Num. xiv. 2-4. Those that are of noble families scorn to
pursue the mean designs of the inferior sort, having a spirit suitable
to their quality. — None are of such a noble extract as the saints
are, by their new state : and their spirit is in some measure agree-
able thereto.
II. I proceed to the second branch of the doctrine, which is,
* Whosoever will comply with the gospel-call, shall be adopted into
232
636 OF ADOPTION.
God's family. God will be their Father, and they shall be his sons
and daughters.'
Here I shall shew,
1. "What is the call of the gospel, on compliance with which men
shall be adopted into God's family.
2. Confirm the doctrine.
3. Lay before you further the nature of this relation to the fa-
mily of heaven.
4. Apply the subject.
FIRST, I shall show what is the call of the gospel, on compli-
ance with which we shall be adopted into the family of God. It
consists of two parts. It is a call,
1. To leave the devil's family: 'Come out from among them,'
Psal. xlv. 10. Come away from the family ye were born in : leave
your natural father, his house, work, and way. Sinners, ye have
remained too long at home. Repent now, and be converted. Give
up with your old way of sin and sloth : bestir yourselves like true
Israelites, and come forth from the land of Egypt, and the house of
bondage, from the iron furnace. This is the gospel-call to you.
2. To come away to Jesus Christ, the head of the blessed society,
and so put yourselves into the family of heaven, Matth. xi. 28.
1 Pet. ii. 4. A father, a master, ye must have ; and ye are called
to change fathers and masters, to take the Lord himself instead of
Satan. Join yourselves to the Lord in the covenant of grace. Offer
yourselves into the family of heaven, and for that cause accept the
offer of the elder brother of that family, taking him for your all, in
all his offices. He is saying to you as he did to the spouse. Cant,
iv. 8. ' Come with me from Lebanon,' &c. He offers to introduce
you into his father's house and family, and to get you admitted
among the children.
SECONDLY, I shall confirm this doctrine, ' That whosoever will
comply with the gospel-call, shall be adopted into God's family.'
1. This is the plain gospel-promise, held out to sinners to engage
them to come away, as in the test expressly. It is the Lord's own
word, who is truth itself, and whose deeds of mercy and grace are
always equal to his word ; and ye may with all security venture on
it. And it is no more than what was prophesied before to be the
effect of the preaching of the gospel, among those that comply with
it, Hos. i. 10. — ' Ye are the sons of the living God.'
2. All that have complied, and come away, have met with no
worse entertainment, than the promise put them in hope of, John i.
12. * To as many as received him, to them gave he power to become
the sons of God.' They were of sundry sorts that received him.
or ADOPTION. 637
some high, some Iott, some of the greatest sinners, that ■were grown
sinners in the devil's family. But they all met with this entertain-
ment. The apostle John, 1 Epist. iii, 1. speaks of this honour as
common to all that have believed. And the entertainment they
have got before us, was designed for the encouraging of those in
after generations to come away, Eph. ii. 7.
3. This was the very end and design of the incarnation of the Son
of God, his obedience, death, and sufferings, to bring in sinners as
children into his Father's family, John xi. 51, 52. The repairing of
the breach made therein by the fall of angels and men, was laid
upon him, as the Attest person : forasmuch as he was by nature the
Son of Grod, he was the fittest to make others sons by grace. Hence
he is represented,
(1.) As the first born among many brethren, a first-born in a
positive sense, whom other sons were to follow, Rom. viii. 29. The
man Christ was designed to be God's first-born ; and therefore there
must of necessity be other men to be his brethren, as children of the
same family. Else where is his pre-eminence, dominion, i^riesthood,
&c. if there be no brethren added to him ? Now these must be of
men taken out of the devil's family, or not at all ; for there are
none other of Adam's posterity, whose nature he took.
(2.) As a Captain upon the head of the children bringing thera
home to their Father's house, Heb. ii. 10. The glory the saints
receive at last, is given them as children and heirs, Matth. xxv. 34.
And Christ is appointed the Captain of those heirs of glory, leading
them to their inheritance. Now, these must draw to his standard
out of Satan's family, and list themselves under his banner, his
army being gathered together by the gospel.
(3.) As one lowering himself to exalt our nature, that we might
be capable of adoption into his Father's family, Heb. ii. 1-4, For
this cause he took our nature into personal union with his divine
nature, that the meanness of the adopted might not be such as to
stain the honour of the Adopter. — And now, since the Son of God is
also the Son of man, the way is opened for the children of men to
become the children of God.
(4.) Lastly, As travailing and bringing forth children unto God.
Christ's death-pains were birth-pangs, Acts ii. 24. — "Well may he
call believers Bcnoni and Nahptali ; for his pangs for bringing forth
these children put him to strong crying and tears, Ileb. v. 7 ; into
an agony and bloo<ly sweat, Luke xxii. 44 ; and in the end he died
of tliem. But only they were not in vain, he will have issue by all
his labour and toil, as that word signifies, Isa. liii. 11. 'lie shall see
of the travail of his soul.'
2s3
^38 OF ADOPTIOK.
What ground then remains to doubt of this adoption, which
Christ has been so employed for, and upon which so much of his
honour depends ?
4. The design of the ministry of the gospel is to bring sinners out
of Satan's family into God's by adoption. And therefore they are
sent out with that message in the name of the Lord, 2 Cor. vi. 17-
' Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord.'
They are sent to travel betwixt the two families, and persuade sin-
ners to forget their father's house. The Lord does not send out his
ambassadors to mock you, but as really as the word of God is truth,
if ye comply with their call, ye shall be God's sons and daughters.
5. Lcistly, Whosoever shall comply with the gospel-call shall be
espoused and married to Christ, and therefore cannot miss to be a
child of his Father's family, Hos. ii. 19. The gospel-call is the car-
rying on a treaty betwixt the elder brother of the house of heaven
and a child of the house of hell. It is offered to all to whom the
gospel comes, and to you in particular, amongst whom the feast of
the espousals is providing, Matth. xxii. 4. It is his Father's good
will that this match be made. And therefore whom Christ takes
for his spouse, the Father will never refuse for a child of his family.
THIRDLY, I will lay before you farther the nature of this rela-
tion unto the family of heaven. The text tells us, that the issue of
this adoption is, that God will be a Father to the adopted, and they
his children. Now, this may be considered in two respects. (L)
In point of privilege, and this privilege is exceedingly great ; but of
that we have spoken already. (2.) In point of duty, which the pri-
vilege brings along with it ; and that I will now lay before you.
If ye mind to join yourselves to the family of heaven, remember ye
are to be there under the character of sons and daughters of the
house, and must resolve to carry yourselves as such ; otherwise ye
do but mock God, and will ruin your own souls. Lay then your
account with this, that God must be a Father to you, and ye his
sons and daughters. And this in point of duty implies,
1. Ye must join interests with God's family. As the father's in-
terest is the interest of all the children, so God's interest must be
yours, on all hazards, Matth. xvi. 24. ' If any man will come after
me (says Christ), let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and
follow me.' There is a continued battle betwixt Christ and his
angels, and the devil and his ; the peace will never be made. Now
chuse what side you will fall in with. Christ is carrying all the fa-
mily of God on earth away to heaven, in the ship of the covenant,
with a design to weather all the storms they may meet with by the
way ; never to yield to go back to the devil's ground. Are ye con-
OF ADOPTION. 639
tent to embark with him on these terms ? If so, then say now as
Ruth did to Naomi, Ruth i. 16. ' Entreat me not to leave thee, or to
return from following after thee : for whither thou goest, I will go ;
and where thou lodgest, I will lodge ; thy people shall be my
people, and thy God my God.' If not, better not to put yonr hand
to the plough, than to look back.
2. God must command, and ye must obey without disputing your
Father's oi'ders. God says to children, ' Children, obey your pa-
rents in the Lord: for this is right,' Eph. vi. 1. ' Children, obey
your parents in all things : for this is well-pleasing unto the Lord,'
Col. iii. 20. The same are the laws of the family of heaven, 1 Pet.
i. 14. * As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to
the former lusts, in your ignorance.' If ye will come in here, leave
your own corrupt will behind you, for your Father's will must be
yours, Psal. xlv. 10. and ye must resolve to submit to all the laws
of the house. If there be therefore any known duty ye have no
mind to comply with, or known sin ye have no mind to part with,
venture not in among the children, for ye cannot have the portion
or welcome of a child.
3. Ye must give him internal as well as external obedience.
Filial affections are due to a father ; love, reverence, delight in him,
and fear to offend him, Rom. A'iii. 15. A slave or servant will give
God the hand, when they do not give him the heart. But if thou
be a son, thou must have child-like affections towards him. If thou
hast no heart for him, no kindly zeal and concern on thy spirit to
please him, thou canst be no child of his. And if thou dost not
mind to ply internal as well as external obedience, thou art not for
that family.
4. Ye must resolve to imitate your Father, Eph. v. 1. 'Be fol-
lowers of God, as dear children.' Conform yourselves no more to
the world, to follow the way of the multitude, Rom. xii. 2. but set
yourselves to write after Christ's copy, to follow his example, and
to ' walk as he walked,' 1 John ii. 6. for ' he has left ns an example
that we should follow his steps.' Consider if ye be so minded, ye
are welcome to the children's table ; if not, ye are not fit to come
there.
5. Ye and your lot must be at God's disposal, Psal. xlvii. 4. Ye
must take what place, and act what part, in the family the Father
shall think meet to dispose of you to. The soul that comes to
Christ lays his all down at the Lord's feet, Acts ix. 6 ; and if ye
mind to come into the family, lay your account with this ; for God
will not allow his children to carve for tlieraselves, but leave that to
him.
640
OF ADOPTION,
6. Ye must submit to correction, Heb. xii. 6, 7. The discipline
of the house they must submit to who will come iuto it. The cross
ye must be content to take up, if ever ye mind to put on the crown.
Lay your account with the ilk-day's cross, and the holy-day's cross :
for all the children of Grod are brought up under it. And they that
will refuse the cross, will refuse their part in the family of heaven,
since there is no part there without it.
7. Lastly, Ye must resolve to persevere to the end, John viii. 35.
Ye must take an everlasting farewell of Satan's family, never to go
back to your former lusts and idols; but to be the Lord's only,
wholly, and for evermore. Never enter the threshold of the house
unless ye mind to stay for ever. Be contented to have your ears
nailed to the door-posts ; for God has said, ' Tf any man draw back,
my soul shall have no pleasure in him,' Heb. x. 88.
Use, Of exhortation. Comply with the gospel-call. Come to
Christ out from among them, and partake of this adoption into
God's family. Now ye may have God to be your Father, and ye
may be his children. Secure this blessed bargain for yourselves
now ; and put a close to that transaction by sincerely closing with
Christ, and giving up yourselves wholly to be the Lord's. I offer
the following motives.
Mot. 1. Consider the v/retched case of the family thou art of.
Whilst til on art not a child of God, thou art a member of Satan's
family, John viii. 44 ; and they are a miserable society. They are
miserable now, and Avill be miserable for evermore ; for God has
sworn that he will have war with them for ever. See the great
stroke that will be the decisive one. Matth. xxv. 41. 'Depart from
me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels.' Every unconvei'ted man and woman is a child of wrath ;
that is their heritage from the Lord, which will make judgment
their food, and everlasting sorrow their bed. None of them have a
garment to cover their nakedness, nor wherewith to pay their debt
to divine justice, so wretchedly poor are they ; and therefore Christ
says, ' Buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich ;
and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame
of thy nakedness do not appear,' Rev. iii. 18.
Mot. 2. Consider what a Father God will be to you, the best of
fathers. No children are so happy as God's children are.
1. The most honourable Father; he is the King of kings, and
Lord of lords. And there are none whose eyes God has opened, but
they will value this adoption more than all the fading honours of a
world, 1 John iii. 1. Moses preferred it to being the son of Pha-
raoh's daughter, Heb. xi. 24, 25.
OP ADOPTION. 641
2. The most loving and compassionate Father. It goes beyond
the love of fathers and mothers too to their sucking children, Isa.
xlix. 15, 16. ' Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should
not have compassion on tlie son of her womb ? yea, they may forget,
yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven tliee upon the
palms of my hands, thy walls are continually before me.' "What fa-
ther's love would have made him to do what he has done for his
children, even when they were enemies? John iii. 16. 'God so
loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Sou, that whosoever
believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.'
3. The most helpful Father, he is able to help in all cases that
his children can be in. Are they pursued ? he has a refuge for
them. Whatever they want, he can give them, for all is his. And
if they be held at short commons at any time, it is because he sees
it is best for them. When death comes, and neither father nor
mother can help, he can ; as Psalm xlviii. ult. ' For this God is our
God for ever and ever : he will be our guide even unto death.'
4. The richest Father, that has the best inheritance to give to his
children, ' an inheritance incorrupted and undefiled, and that fadeth
not away,' 1 Pet. i. 4. He has prepared for them a better country,
a glorious city, a palace for their mansion-place ; richest treasures
of glory. And all these are such as shall never go from them, nor
they from them.
5. The Avisest Father, ' God only wise.' lie is one to whose dis-
posal one may securely resign himself absolutely. He cannot be
mistaken in his measures for his children's welfare ; and he ever
seeks it.
6. Lastli/, His children have the best attendants, in their life,
Heb. i. ult. ' Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to mi-
nister to those who shall be heirs of salvation V and at their death,
angels to convoy them to Abraham's bosom, Luke xvi. 22. Tea,
himself is ever with them in life and in death, till he bring them
where they shall be beyond hazard, Psal. xxiii. 4. ' Yea, though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil :
for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.'
Mot. 3. Consider the mighty price paid for the redemption of sin-
ners, to make way for them into God's family. Gal. iv. 4, 5. ' When
the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son made of a
woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the
law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.' There was no
hope of this till the Son of God undertook the work of redemption.
And by his precious blood he purchased it for us. 0 ! trample not
on the price and purchase of blood.
642 OP ADOPTIOK.
Mot. 4. Consider what a wonderful thing it is, that there is a
possibility of it, that children of Satan may become the children of
God. Whoso considers their own vilcness and God's greatness,
must cry out with wonder, ' Is this the manner of men !'
Mot. ult. It is this day in your offer. The Lord says to you,
even to all of you, as in the text, I will he a Father unto you, &c.
And ye may have it, and have it sealed to you. But it will not al-
ways be so. The day of grace will come to an end.
Case 1. But will ever God set such a sinful and vile wretch as me
among his children ? Ans. Yes, if ye make not yourselves more
vile, by rejecting Jesus Christ. I know nothing can hinder you
from adoption, but that, John iii. 19. 'And this is the condemna-
tion, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil.' The greatness of
your sin will not do it, Isa. i. 18. ' Come now and let us reason to-
gether saitli the Lord ; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be
as white as snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool.' The multitude of them, Isa. Iv. 7- ' Let the wicked forsake
his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts ; and let him return
unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God,
for he will abundantly pardon.' Your frequent backslidings, Jer.
iii. 1, 4. 'They say, if a man put away his wife, and she go from
him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again?
shall not that land be greatly polluted ? but thou hast j)layed the
harlot with many lovers ; yet return again to me saith the Lord.
"Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the
guide of my youth V Come to Christ, unite with him by faith, in
the way of the covenant, and God will pardon and adopt you.
Case 2. But I fear I never will be able to carry as a child of God.
Ans. Is it thy sincere purpose to labour to conform thyself to the
manners of God's house ? then he bids thee welcome into his family.
He can do for his children, what no other father can do, even trans-
form them into his own image and likeness, and preserve them by
his mighty power through faith unto salvation.
THE DIVINE CALL TO LEAVE, &C. 643
THE DIVINE CALL TO LEAVE THE DEVIL'S FAMILY, EXPLAINED
AND URGED.*
2 Cor. vi. 17, 18. — Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing ; and I
will receive you, and will he a Father unto yon, and ye shall be my
sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
The sacred feast before us the Lord makes for his own children in
the lower house, and for them only. His children that are above
need it not. The children of the devil, which all in a state of na-
ture are, will not get the welcome of the Master of the feast to it,
for he has made it only for those of his own family. But there is
another family that bears the greatest bulk in the world, and that
is Satan's : and all the world belongs to one of the two. The
apostle tells us there can be no communion or agreement betwixt
these two families, ver. 14, 15, 16. But God making up his family
of such as are brought out of Satan's, the gospel is sent into the
world to invite sinners to desert their natural father's house, pro-
mising them thereupon a kindly reception into the family of God,
both which we have in the text. Wherein is,
1. The gospel-call to sinners. And that is to come out from
among them, &c. And here is,
(1.) The substance of the duty. Come out from among them. This
black society, which ye are called to come out of, is that of unbe-
lievers, unrighteousness, darkness, idolaters, headed by Belial, the
devil ; that is, in a word, the world lying in wickedness ; all the
unconverted world, which the text and context represents as the
devil's family, to which the family of God is opposed. To come out
from among them, is to come out of your natural state, to renounce
the devil, the world, and sin, and to come to Christ by faith. And
that the text aims at no less than this, (though it is pertinently
enough applied to renouncing external visible church-communion
with idolaters), I think it is evident from this, that adoption into
God's family is proposed and promised on compliance with this call,
ver. 18. And let men separate as they will, till they make this
holy separation, that they can never have.
(2.) The manner of the duty. [1.] Ye must come away freely,
and for altogether : Be ye separate. A withdrawing for a time
* This discourse was preached at Ettrick, June 8, 1718, immediately before the
celebration of the Lord's Supper.
G44 THE DIVIXE CALL TO LEAVE
while the relation stands betwixt you and them, will not do ; there
must be a total separation, by going to the contrary side, and set-
ting up in opposition to them : Be ye separate. Thus the apostle
explains, Isa. lii. 11. whence this is taken. [2.] Ye must come
away cleanly and honestly, taking up nothing of theirs to carry
away with you, as Rachael did her father's images : Touch not the
unclean thing. Thus God himself calls you away : Saith the Lord.
2. The gospel-offer and promise, on compliance with the call, /
will receive you. I will take you in, viz. into my house and family;
namely, as children by adoption, having left your natural Father,
the devil. Compare ver. 18. which we explained before.
I observe from the words the following doctrine, viz.
DocT. ' The Lord calls to sinners to come freely and cleanly away
out of the devil's family, promising thereupon to take them into
his own family, as children of his house by adoption.'
Having at large explained the doctrine of the divine adoption
from ver. 18. and apjdied it in the way of trial, I have chosen fur-
ther to pursue that design, in a way of exhortation, in the words of
this text. To prepare which for application, I shall only,
I. Shew you a few things implied in this call.
II. "What this coming out from among them is.
I. I shall shew you a few things implied in this call.
1. Sinners naturally are of the devil's family, John viii. 44. Ye
are in among them, else there were no need of coming out from
among them. The family of Satan consists of devils, damned spirits
of men, and all the unconverted world lying in wickedness ; in a
word, of all those that are not of the family of God. All these are
under one head, the prince of devils. And accordingly, when time
is at an end, they shall all be housed uuder one dreadful roof for
ever, Matth. xxv. 41. 0 ! unconverted sinner, thou art a son of the
house of hell, (what ever blood run in thy veins), a prison-house, a
dark house, a dreadfully miserable house, Matth. xxiii. 15. Never
was a child liker a father than thou art like the devil. He is a
fallen creature, lying in wickedness ; his nature is enmity against
God and his holy law ; so art thou and thine. And though thou
put a fair face on it by a form of godliness, that will not make thee
unlike him, who can transform himself into an angel of light. So
thou art among them.
2. It is possible thou may get out from among them. Satan
has a great family, one part whereof he has in the lower house, in
hell ; these are devils and damned spirits. If once he get you down
among them, ye cannot get out from among them again, but must
abide among them for ever and ever. So this call has nothing ado
THE devil's family ENFORCED. 645
Avith that part of the devil's family ; they are past hope. But
there is another part of it in his upper house of this world, who as
really belong to his family as the other, 2 Cor. iv. 4. with this dif-
ference, that as long as they are there, he is never quite sure of
them, that as sons they shall abide in his house for ever. The elder
brother of the family of heaven, the Lord of his Father's house, has
his lower house in this same world, where Satan has his upper one ;
and he has his Father's commission to fill it out of Satan's family,
those of them in his upper house. And for this cause he sends out
his ambassadors, ministers, to call in the name of the Lord to them,
as in the text. Come out from among them, ^c. ' Forget thine own
people, and thy Father's house,' Psal. xlv. 10. They must be in
earnest with that part of the family, and give them no rest, because
there is yet hope, Luke xiv. 23. and he has a Spirit that can draw
them out effectually, that are farthest in, in the house.
3. Te will not be carried away from among them against your
will. Ye must come away voluntarily, setting down your own feet
to make your escape, Psal. ex. 3. There is a generation that makes
the doctrine of man's impotency too good a pillow for their sloth :
they say they can do nothing, and they will do nothing. But if ye
were willing to come away, ye would do something for that end ; yo
would stretch out the withered hand, ye would take the help of
Christ's grace offered unto you, ye would take no rest till ye were
got away.
4. Ye need not expect to get the good-will of your father, nor of
the family, to the parting. The call is directed to you, without
noticing them ; for it is known, they will never let you go as
long as they can hinder you. Therefore you must be resolute and
peremptory, in spite of all opposition, to come away from among
them, Mat. xi. 12. No sooner does one begin to stir out from
among them, but he will raise the hue and cry after him. Hell's
flatterings and threatenings are all plied to get them back again,
and to lay aside their purpose. But ye must stop your ears to
them all, and look not behind you, as Lot's wife did. Gen. xix. 17.
5. Ye must come out from among them, for good and all. Be ye
separate. Come away wholly, come away for ever, Psal. xlv. 10.
Come away, with a sincere i)urpose never to go back among them,
Psal. Ixxx. 18. Leave not your heart behind you. Remember
Lot's wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt, for the rueful look
she gave to what she had left in Sodom. They that come not away
thus freely separating from them, they will not go far away, they
will not go off the devil's ground : and they will go back again, if
the communion were over.
646 THE DIVINE CALL TO LEAVE
6. Liistly, Take up nothing from among them, to bring along with
you : Touch not the unclean thing. There are many who meaning to
come out from among t.hem, secure themselves in the devil's snare,
and shut the door of the house of heaven on themselves, by the pre-
paration they make for the journey.
(1.) They think they will need something in God's house for their
hearts to feed upon. They think Christ's blood will do well enough
for their consciences ; but to get something to stop the mouths of
their hungry hearts, that must have something to feed upon, they
bring along with them some of the provision of the house they came
from. [1.] Some of the dust they Avere wont to eat with the ser-
pent : some lust or other, which they have sucked much sap and
sweetness out of, and they know not how to live without it, more
than Herod without his Herodias, or Judas without the bag, &c.
But remember, if ye touch that unclean thing, God will not receive
you. Leave it then behind you to the devil from whence it came ;
it is his proper food, Isa. Ixv. ult. all the pleasure he has lies in
such things. Say ye, ' I have behaved and quieted myself as a
child, that is weaned of his mother : my soul is even as a weaned
child,' Psal. cxxxi. 2. [2.] Some of the husks they were wont to
eat with the swine, Luke xv. 16 ; the dry, sapless, foisonless world,
that Satan used to dress up to them, as best suited their palate, in
the pleasures, vanities, profits, and pomp of it. But touch not the
unclean thing. Cant. iv. 8 ; and drop that unclean bulky vanity, and
come away. There is no need of any such provision in our hea-
venly Father's house, that is abundantly provided with the product
of the better country, Isa. Iv. 2.
(2.) They think they will need something on them, suitable to the
new house they are coming to, that they come not in among them
like hand-beggars. And so they take up the garb of the house they
come from, and bring it with them, even the filthy unclean garment
of their own righteousness, the loathsome rags of the pretended
good that is in them, or about them, to commend them to Christ.
But 0 drop the nasty garment, and touch not that unclean thing,
Isa. Ixiv. 6. Come away naked and bare, and receive the blessing
in the elder brother's clothes, or ye cannot have it. Seek nothing
to commend you to him, but your utter misery, vileness and want of
all things. The more you bring with you to commend you to him,
the more securely ye shut his door on you.
II. The next head is to shew what this coming out from among
them is. It is no local motion, but a spiritual motion of the soul ;
and I give it you briefly in three steps.
1. A hearty and unfeigned willingness to leave them, and to come
THE devil's pajiily enforced. 647
out from among tliera. This is the first step. Ami 0 what a deal
of work is there, ere the sinner can be brought this length ! No
less than the power of grace is able to bring the soul to this, Psal.
ex. 3. ' Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.' It is
a dead grip the sinner takes of his father's house, and he will shift
hither and thither ere lie let go the grip. It is as death to him to
think of parting with his dear lusts, that are to him as a right hand
or eye, which neither promises nor threatenings can make him con-
sent to part with, till grace loose the heart. Whosoever then has
got the length of this, they have made the first step, which is the
most diflicult one.
2. An actual renouncing and giving up with that house, and all
that belongs to it. The soul being willing to leave it, actually gives
up with it, Job xxxiv. 32 ; renounces its natural relation to that
society, their work, their way ; resolving, come what will, to stay
no longer there among them, it bids an eternal farewell to it.
Though a Red Sea appear before such persons, which they know not
how they will get through, they are peremptory they will not return
to the spiritual Egypt, the house of their soul's bondage. This is
the second step.
3. Ldstli/, A sincere acceptance of Jesus Christ by faith, in the
marriage-covenant held forth in the gospel ; whereby they take him
for all, and instead of all, and give themselves to him, to be his
only, wholly, and for ever. Cant. ii. 16. There is no interpendent
state betwixt the two families, but the soul lifting the one foot, as
it were sets down the other. It lets go the hold of its lusts and
idols, by embracing of Jesus Christ, not only for a rest to the con-
science, but a rest to the heart ; and embracing Christ as the one
pearl of great price, lets go all that it has. Thus the soul is united
to Jesus Christ, and is come out from among tliem, as one that is
married is from that moment no more of her father's house, but her
husband's. So the soul, though in the midst of the world lying in
wickedness, is no more of that society, but come out from among
them, John xv. 19.
Now, the souls thus joined to Christ, are by him introduced to his
Father's house and i)resence, and by him adopted as his children, as
Jacob did the two sons of Joseph for his sake.
I shall not here stand to confirm the doctrine, since it is very
plain from the text, and I confirmed the certainty of adoption into
God's family, to those that comply with the gospel-call, the last
day; but shall proceed to the application; which I make in the
words of the text.
Wherefore, 0 sinners, ' Come forth from among them, and be ye se-
648 TITE DIVINE CALL TO LEAVE
parate,^ &c. It is the Lord's call to you this day to come away
freely and cleanly out of the devil's family, and the Lord will take
you in. Hearken unto this,
1. Ye that have lived all your days at ease in Satan's family,
never knew ye were there, and were never troubled how to get out
of it. Open your eyes, and know your natural state ; see yourselves
children of the devil, and heirs of wrath, at length ; and sleep no
longer the sleep of death, but look about you ; see your danger, and
come out from among them, and be ye separate to-day.
2. Ye that sometimes have had an awakening, and seen your-
selves undone, but have fallen asleep again, and look on that former
fright as a dream. Know ye that it was most real, and represented
your case to you as indeed it was, and yet is : and Satan it is, who
to keep you still among them, deluded you to think that God's
armies advancing against you were but the shadow of the mountains.
"Wherefore bestir yourselves, and come out from among thera.
3. Ye apostates and backsliders, that sometimes seemed to make
considerable advances in coming out, but now have gone back in
among them, and fallen afresh to the entertainment, the work and
manners of the house. Our Lord gives you a new call to come out
from among them and go on your way again, Jer. iii. 22.
4. Ye that are halting, and in a doubt what to do, whether to
come out from among them or not. Conscience is pressing you for-
ward, and corruption drawing you back. Something tells you, ' To-
day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.' Something
else is saying, It is too soon, there will be time enough after this.
Know this last is the language ye hear among them that seek the
ruin of your souls. Take no heed to what they say, but resolutely
come out from among them.
5. Ye that have been often aiming at coming, but never yet have
come away freely and cleanly. Make a fair and cleanly separation
now. Touch not the unclean thing. Give up with your natural fa-
ther's house, and have no more to do with any thing that belongs to
it. Let no beloved lust be spared. Leave not a hoof behind you,
as being minded never to return.
6. Lastly, All that desire for Heaven or the favour of God, in
time or eternity, come out from among them. And be still coming
farther and farther from them, and nearer to Jesus Christ. I offer
the following motives.
Mot. 1. It is a most miserable case to be among them, the true
sight whereof may frighten one out of their society. Never could
one that was in a den of lions, or beset with serpents, or enclosed
with venomous creatures, be more desirous to be from among them,
THE devil's family enforced. 649
than God's elect to be owt of the world lying in wickedness, out of
the devil's family, when once the Spirit of the Lord has oi)ened their
eyes to see clearly where they are, Luke xv. 17, 18. For,
1; There is not, and never will be, any peace with heaven among
them. This is the apostle's argument in the text, ver. 14. — 17-
Sooner shall light and darkness agree, than the two families of hea-
ven and hell. God has declared they are a society with whom he
will have war for ever, Isa. Ivii. ult. Some of the devil's family may
be roaring on account of God's felt enmity against them, while others
have a profound peace ; but the one as well as the other stand for
marks to the arrows of God's justice. Dent. xix. 19, 20. As long as
thou art among them, thou art an enemy to God, and God is an
enemy to thee, Rom. viii. 7- Luke xix. 27. Wilt thou be able to
endure this ? No ; Come out from among them, and he ye separate, &c.
2. There is not, and never will be, any thing pure or clean among
them. Touch not the unclean thing, i. e. Meddle not with any thing
that belongs to them. For they, and all that is theirs, are unclean
and loathsome in the sight of God, Tit. i. 15. As long as thou art
among them, thy whole soul in all its faculties is utterly defiled,
and so are all thy works, even the best of them ; for thou canst do
nothing but sin, canst do no good at all, Psal. xiv. 1. The opening
of thy mouth to God in prayer or praise, is but like the opening of
an unripe grave ; all thy fair promises and engagements to duty,
are but abominable deceit, Rom. iii. 13. The meddling with God's
holy things, see what it is, Isa. Ixvi. 3. ' He that killeth an ox, is as
if he slew a man : he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's
neck : he that oftereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood :
he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol : yea, they have
chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abomina-
tions.' For a child of the devil can never please God in any thing,
till he come out from among them, and be separate, Heb. xi. 6.
3. There is nothing but rank poverty among them, nor ever
will be. Rev. iii. 17. The best raiment among them to cover the
soul's nakedness, is rags, filthy rags. And they must appear before
God as their Judge ; and that is all they have to hide their shame,
and it will never do. The whole family is drowned in debt to the
justice of God, and they have nothing wherewith to pay. Sin is the
debt, and it will be exacted ; and as long as ye are among them, ye
cannot have a cautioner, for in the whole family there is not one
that is able to answer for it. And there is no forgiveness of the
debt, while ye remain among them, Acts iii. 19.
4. There is a cloud of wrath hangs above them continually, and
abideth on them, and every one that is among them, John iii. ult.
2 T
G50 THE DIVINE CALL TO LEAVE
While ye are among thera, your state is a state of wrath, and yo
are children of wrath. There is never a gleam of light or favour
towards you, Psal. vii. 11. There is never one word of God speaks
peace to you. While ye dwell among them, ye dwell under Mount
Sinai, that fiery mountain where the curses of a broken law are fly-
ing about your ears. And though being asleep ye are secure, ye
shall no sooner be awakened, than ye shall see the fearful light-
nings, hear the thunders of wrath, and the voice of the trumpet, &c.
Therefore I would say to you, as Dent. i. 6. ' Come out from among
them ; ye have dwelt too long in this mount.'
5. Death reigns among them. See where they sit, Matth. iv. 16.
' In the region and shadow of death.' The whole society are a par-
cel of condemned criminals, John iii. 18. that know not how soon
the sentence shall be executed upon them ; their father the devil
ready to be the executioner ; they are all in a dying condition, their
souls have got their death's wounds, and they are pining away in
their iniquity, while in the meantime their eyes are held that they
cannot see the preciousness of the Physician. Nay, they are dead
already in a spiritual sense ; God, the life of the soul, is departed
far from them. 0 ! why will ye stay in the congregation of the
dead ? Come out from among them to the Lord of life.
6. Lastly, They are not to stay in this upi)er house of the world ;
they will all be down in the lower house together ere long. The
devil's upper house is a throng house now ; but the day comes that
God will set it on fire about their ears, 2 Pet. iii. 10. And then the
whole family shall go away together into the bottomless pit, and be
all under one roof, so as not one shall remain behind. There are
some dropping down to it daily ; yet the rest remain secure ; but it
will not be always so. There was a dreadful cry at Dathan and
Abiram's downgoing. Num. xvi. 34. What a cry will there be,
when the whole family shall go down together? Rev. xx. ult.
Therefore I would say to you, as Num. xvi. 26. ' Come out from
among them ; depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked
men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their
sins.'
Mot. 2. Come out from among them, and be ye separate ; and the
Lord will take you into his family, and that in the quality of sons
and daughters. Ye have his word expressly for it in the text : and
that has been the lot of all that came away before you, John i. 12.
And that this may take with you, consider,
1. The glorious society ye shall be taken into, being taken as
children into God's family by adoption. The apostle declares this
at large, Heb. xii. 22,-24.
THE DEVIIi's FAMILY EXFORCED. G51
2. I might say much to the commendation of the Father of the
family. He is the most honourable, loving, and ■helpful, and rich
father, the wisest father, and he is an immortal father. His chil-
dren shall ucA'er be fatherless ; let all the world leave them, they
shall have a father to take them up. And while they are under
minority, they shall have the best attendants. The elder brother
of the family is fairer than the sons of men ; and he is of our na-
ture, and will own us as of his flesh and of his bones, Eph. v. 30.
And the most loving to his adopted brethren ; he died for them
while they were yet in the devil's family. And he can do all with
his father, having the entire management of the house of heaven,
John V. 22. He is a most compassionate and merciful High Priest.
The Spirit of the family is a noble spirit, that will spirit you for the
greatest achievements; a holy and sanctifying Spirit, that will
make the vilest heart holy ; a quickening Spirit, an enlightening
Spirit. And all the children partake of this Spirit.
3. Ye shall have glorious privileges here ; and, among the rest,
establishment and perseverance in the family, John viii. 35. Gome
once in, and ye shall never be cast out.
4. Lastly J The full possession of your eternal inheritance in hea-
ven, Matth. XXV. 34. He will give the kingdom to all his children,
sons and daughters. Your elder brother will give yon to sit on his
throne.
Come out from among them, then, unto Jesus Christ, and so be
entered into God's family by adoption. Seemeth it a small thing to
you to be children of the house of heaven, to have God for your Fa-
ther, and ye to be his sons and daughters. Believe this ofter of the
gospel, therefore, made to you, 0 children of the house of hell, and
close with the offer of adoption into God's family, and receive the
seal of it in the sacrament. I beseech you to accept it, nay, I
charge you to come out from among them this day, and enter into
God's family through Jesus Christ, under the pain of God's eternal
displeasure. What ails you at it ; the language of the hearts of
many will be,
1, Tliey do not like the laws of the house. They think it would
be what would take away their liberty, and pent them up to into-
lerable bondage. Ans. No ; Satan's service is slavery, and the worst
of slavery. If ye continue in it, your chains will be ever on you ;
the chains of your lusts are rattling about you now, 2 Tim. ii. 26,
and the chains of wrath will be rattling about you through eternity,
Matth. xxii, 13. But those of God's family enjoy true liberty, John
viii. 36, And their liberty shall he enlarged afterward, and be very
glorious, Rom. viii. 21.
2 t2
652 THE DIVINE CALL TO LEAVE, &C.
2. They like not the society of the house. They think it is but
the peevish silly part of mankind, the scum of the world, that
trouble themselves with these things. Ans. No ; they are the ex-
cellent in the earth, Prov. xii. 26. David, a king, thought them so,
Psal. xvi. 3. Why do ye despise them, but because they are of an-
other spirit than the spirit of the devil's family ? Remember, that
' not many wise men after the flesh are called,' &c. 1 Cor. i. 26, 27,
28. Eut I assure you the main quarrel and the ground of this is,
ye like not the Father of the family, and therefore not those that
bear his image, 1 John. v. 1. However, remember, that the day
will come when you will say, 0 that my soul were in their soul's
stead ! ' Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end
be like his.'
3. Lastly, They do not believe any such thing, as that God will
make men his sons and daughters. Ans. Then ye do not believe
God's word in the text, John i. 12. Christ's death and suiferings
must lose their end, Gal. iv. 4, 5. But ye will be cured of that, if
not before, yet at their receiving their inheritance as children, Matth.
XXV. 34. when unbelievers get their doom.
But there may be some that would fain believe it, and that with
application too, that they might come away and partake of it. But
Satan and their hearts muster up objections against it ; such as,
1. Was it ever heard, that there was an adoption where the party
adopting was not childless ? Ans. Gods ways are not man's ways.
It is free grace only, and not need, that puts the heavenly Father to
adopt any of his creatures. — Yet there is a suitableness in it to the
divine wisdom. God's family suffered a vast diminution by the spi-
ritual death of children, and thus it is made up again.
2. But how is it consistent with the honour of the adopter to take
men as children into his family ? Ans. This is provided for by the
incarnation of the Son ; man's nature is thereby nobilitated. The
Son of God became the Son of man, that so the sons of men might
become the sons of God, in a consistency with God's honour.
3. But I am afraid God will never take me into his family.
Ans. Wherefore, if ye come in by the door, through Jesus Christ ?
The greatness of your former sins will not hinder it, Isa. 1. 18. the
multitude of them, 1 John i. 7. your backslidings neither, Jer. iii.
22. though ye have been the worst of sinners, 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10, 11.
In ye must be, or ye perish.
4. But Satan plies me at a terrible rate, so that I think I will
never get away out from among them. Ans. When the devil ap-
prehends his time short, he has great wrath. — When the children of
OP SANCTIFICATION'. 653
Israel were nearest their deliverance, Pliaraoli made tlieir bondage
hardest. Be resolute, like the lepers of old.
5. Lastly, But I fear I will never be able to carry suitably to the
character of one of the heavenly family. Ans. Take Christ for
sanctification, put your heart and life in his hand this day, for puri-
fying and managing it, Eph. v. 25, 26. ' Christ loved the church,
and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with
the washing of water, by the word.' Believe the promises of sancti-
fication ; look on them as sealed by the sacrament, and conscienti-
ously use the means of holiness.
To shut up all, I testify to every one, that they are undone, for
ever, if they come not out from among them, and be separate, and
touch no unclean thing ; and that there is nothing to hinder your
entrance into God's family, if ye be content to come out from
among them, and to close with Christ. He will receive you, and in-
troduce you into his Father's family, entertain you at his table, and
at length carry you to the upper house, where ye shall be for ever
with the Lord.
OF SANCTIFICATION.
1 CoEiNTiiiAxs vi. 11. — But ye are sanctified — by the Spirit of our
God.
In this verse the apostle tells the believing Corinthians.
1. "What some of them sometime were, such, viz. as those, ver. 9,
10. ' fornicators, idolators, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of them-
selves with mankind, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extor-
tioners ;' even the worst and grossest sinners, who therefore could
have nothing to move God to sanctify them.
2. What they now all were, viz. the true believers among them ;
they were ' washed.' Though some of them in their natural state
were more unclean and vile than others, yet they all needed to be,
and accordingly were washed,
(1.) In sanctification, whereby sin itself is gradually carried out
of the heart and life, and grace planted therein, and actuated and
advanced. This is done by the Spirit of God, who is holy, and
makes the elect holy.
2. In justification, whereby the guilt of sin is removed, and tlio
soul clothed with a perfect righteousness. This is done ' in the
2t3
654 OP SANCTIFICATION.
name of the Lord Jesus;' i. e. by the merits and blood of Christ,
through Christ apprehended by faith. The apostle's order of stating
these two will be considered afterwards.
The doctrine of the text is as follows, viz.
DocT. ' All that are etfectually called, are freely sanctified by the
Spirit of Christ.'
In treating of this subject, I shall shew,
I. The general notion of sanctification.
II. More particularly inquire into the nature of it.
III. Deduce some inferences.
I. I will lay before you the general nature of sanctification. It
imports three things.
1. Separation, or setting apart to a holy use or service. — Thus the
bread and wine in the sacrament are sanctified, and thus Aaron and
his sons were sanctified. And thus the sanctification of the Spirit,
is the Lord's taking one out of the corrupt mass of mankind lying
in wickedness, and setting him apart for himself, Psal. iv. 3. So
that holiness is Grod's mark and seal set on a soul, testifying it to
be his in a peculiar manner, Eph. i. 13.
2. Purification, or taking away of pollution. Thus people are
called to sanctify themselves. There is a natural impurity and fil-
thiness that every soul naturally is sunk in, 2 Cor. vii. 1. They are
loathsome in the sight of God, all over defiled with filthy lusts.
Sanctification is the Spirit's cleansing of the soul from its im-
jmrities ; breaking the reign of sin, working out sin from the heart
and life, as the spring doth the mud cast into it.
3. Preparation, whereby a thing or person is made fit for use or
service. Thus our food is sanctified by the word and prayer. Na-
turally we are unfit for God's service ; sanctification fits us for it, 2
Tim. ii. 21. "What use are wo for in the world, if not for God ?
But the unsanctified soul is not meet for his use : but the Lord
loathes them, and their services too, as one would do liquor in a
foul vessel.
II. More particularly, I will inquire into the nature of the sanc-
tification of a soul. And let us consider,
1. The kinds of sanctification.
2. The Author of it.
3. The moving cause of it.
4. Wherein it consists.
5. The parts of it.
6. The subject of it,
7. The effect of it.
8. How it is carried on
9. The means of it.
OF SAXCTIFICATION. 65o
FIRST, I shall consider the kinds of sanctification distinguish-
able. Sauctification of a soul is twofold.
1. Initial sanctification, which is the implanting of the seeds of
grace in the soul at first, and is the same with regeneration, 1 John
iii. 9. wherein the Spirit of Christ comes into the man's heart with
his graces, and takes possession of him for God. The whole soul is
cast into a new mould and frame, and the image of God is drawn
anew upou it.
2. Progressive sanctification, whereby that change is carried on
more and more, the Spirit holding hand to the begun ATork, Acts
XX. 32. Satan's image is more defaced, and the image of God more
perfected in the soul ; corruption more weakened, and grace more
excited and strengthened. This work lasts through the saint's
whole life, and is never j)erfected till death.
These are one and the same work for substance, though differing
in circumstances ; and no man has the one, but he has the other too.
Initial sanctificatioiigoes before justification in the oi'der of nature,
as being the principle from which faith doth arise ; and this ac-
counts for the apostle's order in the text : but progressive sanctifi-
cation, i. e. sanctification distinguished from regeneration, follows
justification.
SECONDLY, Let us consider the Author of sanctification, whose
work it is.
1. Negatively, It is not the sinner himself, nor any other crea-
ture, who is the author of it. We can well defile ourselves with
all imi)urity, but cannot cleanse ourselves. We will lie still in our
filthiness, till help come from another quarter, Eph. ii. 1. We are
bid to cleanse our hands and hearts : but, alas ! the rule of our duty
is not the measure of our strength.
2. Positively, It is the work of God ; for it needs no less power
than was necessary for creating a world, or raising the dead. It is
the work of a whole Trinity to sanctify a soul, as lightly as many
think of being holy. It is the work of the Father, Jude, ver. i.
' Sanctified by God the Father ;' of the Son, Eph. v. 26. ' That he
(Christ) might sanctify — it;' of the Holy Spirit, 2 Thess. ii. 13.
' Through sanctification of the Spirit.' But in a special manner it
belongs to the Spirit ; as the Father elects, the Son redeems, and
the Uoly Ghost sanctifies. It is the work of the Spirit of God then.
For,
1. In initial sanctification the Spirit acts alone, and the jjoor
sinner is wholly passive, and can do nothing that way. For he is
dead in sin, and cannot move out of its dominion. He lies in the
grave like the dry bones, which cannot live, nor stand up till they
bo breatlicd upon by the Lord himself.
65G OF SANCTIPICATION.
2. lu progressive sanctification, though the sinner does act to-
wards his own sanctification, 2 Cor. vii. 1. yet he acts not but as he
is acted by the Uoly Spirit, Phil. ii. 13. In vain will he spread out
bis sails, if the wind from heaven blow not, Cant. iv. 16. No blow
of his struck in the battle against lusts will do execution, if the
Spirit do not carry it home.
THIRDLY, The moving cause of it. Sanctification is a great
benefit : whom the Lord bestows it upon, he puts an honour on, for
they are set apart for himself. There is an intrinsic glory in holi-
ness, Psal. xlv. 1.3. ' The King's daughter is all glorious within.'
God is glorious in it, and therefore no wonder it be the glory of the
creature. When the Lord makes one holy, he does more for him
than if he would give him all the gold of the Indies, or make him
sole monarch of the world. Nay, the gift of sanctification is more
worth than the Spirit of prophecy, or the faith of miracles : for men
may be ruined notwithstanding these, but not if they have this.
The only cause of it is free grace, not any j^sonal worth in the
creature, Tit. iii. 5. As the sun shines without hii'e, and enlightens
the dark world ; so does the Holy Spirit sanctify the unholy sinner
freely, without any thing in him to move him thereto, Matth. xi. 25,
26. For,
1. There is nothing in an unholy sinner that is pleasing and ac-
ceptable in God's sight, Rom. viii. 8. There is nothing but stench
and rottenness in the dead soul, till the sanctifying Spirit enter into
him. His best dispositions, actions, and performances, are sin,
being without faith, and the mere product of nature unrenewed.
2. Though there be a great difterence betwixt natural men before
the world, one having by far the advantage of the other in respect
of their natural tempers and the way of their life ; yet the Lord
does not^give his sanctifying grace according to these advantages,
but oft-times grace takes hold of those who are most unlikely to get
it, 1 Cor. i. 26, 27, &c. Publicans and harlots enter into the king-
dom of God before Scribes and Pharisees. And oft-times sovereign
grace overlooks those of the most sweet natural dispositions, and
brings in those of the most rugged.
3. Sovereign grace often chuses the time for sanctifying the sin-
ner, when he has gone the farthest length in sin and wickedness.
Paul was carried the length of blasphemy and persecution, ere
sanctifying grace took hold of him, 1 Tim. i. 13. And Manasseh
was carried to horrid murders and witchcraft, ere he was prevented
by divine grace. Many have been carried to extraordinary acts of
wickedness, whereby they have lost their lives in the course of jus-
tice whom grace has plucked as brands out of the burning, to pro-
claim the freedom of ^irace.
OF SANCTIFICATION. 657
FOURTHLY, I shall shew wherein sanctification consists, or
what the Spirit doth to a sinner when he sanctities him. It con-
sists in the renewing of the sinner after the image of God, Eph. iv.
23, 24. The ruin of man's nature lay in defacing the image of
God which was upon him : sanctification is the renewing and repair-
ing of it, without which God can take no delight in his creature.
Now, in all renewing, the old is put away, and the new brought in.
So there are two acts of the Spirit in sanctification.
1. Destroying of the body of sin, called the old man, Rom. vi. 6.
putting it away. Col. ii. 11. The Spirit of the Lord breaks the
dominion of sin in the soul, and turns it oif the thi'one, that it can-
not command the sinner as aforetime, Rom. vi. 14. weakens and
mortifies the several lusts thereof, Rom. viii. 13. So that it is a
crucified man, who has got his death's wounds by the nails, and shall
not come down till he die out.
2. Endowing the sinner with grace, even with all the graces of
the Spirit, John i. 16. whereby the sinner becomes a new creature,
2 Cor. V. 17. This is the new man which is put on in sanctification ;
the seed of heaven, which can never misgive, but will spring up to
everlasting life, being carried on towards perfection, by the same
Spirit.
FIFTHLY, The parts of sanctification are two.
1. Mortification, whereby the sinner is enabled more and more to
die unto sin, Rom. vi. 4, 6. The Spirit applying the virtue of
Christ's death to the sinner, mortifies him to sin, blunts the edge of
his affection to sin and sinful courses, so that in respect of sin, he
is like a dying man. So that although he be not quite freed from
it yet he is on the way to be so. His lusts are upon the cross,
nailed through and pierced to the heart, not to come down till they
have breathed out their last, Gal. v. 24. Like a dying man taking
leave of friends, he is parting with his old lusts: like a man leaving
off cares about the world, the bent of his soul is turned away from
his former courses.
2. Yivification, whereby the sinner is enabled more and more to
live unto righteousness, Rom. vi. 4. The sanctified sinner leads a
new life, in respect of which he is as a man raised from the dead,
not meddling as before in the business of the world : so the sancti-
fied sinner lives as one of another world, not conforming himself to
the sinful courses of this world, but being transformed into likeness
to those of the better world, Rom. xii. 2. Pliil. iii. 20. The busi-
ness of his life is to serve the Lord, and work out his own salvation;
to be preparing for the eternal rest in heaven, whither his heart is
carried before him.
658 OF SANCTinCATION.
SIXTHLY, Let us view the subject of sanctification. — Under
which consider,
1. Who are sanctified.
2. What of them is sanctified.
First, Who are sanctified. It is the elect who arc sanctified, even
all of them, and they only, Eph. i. 4. 2 Thess. ii. 13. And elect
infants among the rest, dying in infancy, being naturally corrupted
must needs be sanctified too, by the Holy Spirit, since they are of
the number of the elect. For others may be sanctified from the
womb, Jer. i. 5. And none other but the elect do partake of this
grace of sanctification : so that sanctification is a certain evidence
of election.
Secondly, What of them is sanctified. The whole man is sancti-
fied, 2 Cor. V. 17- 1 Thess. v. 23. The grace of sanctification is a
holy leaven, that goes through the whole lump, aud makes every
part of the man holy.
1. The soul is sanctified in all the faculties thereof, new qualities
being infused into and advanced in them. (1.) The understanding
naturally darkened, is renewed in saving knowledge, after God's
image, Col. iii. 10. A new light is struck out in the mind ; the
light of grace arises there, whereby the soul knows si^iritual things
in another manner than before ; and this advanceth unto the perfect
day, Prov. iv. 18. (2.) The will, naturally perverse and rebellious,
gets a righteous set and bent, agreeable to the will of God, Eph. ii.
24. whereby it is averse to evil, and prone to good. (3.) The un-
holy affections are made holy, ibid. So that their love, hatred, de-
light, sorrows, &c. are changed. And herewith comes along the
sanctification of the conscience and memory.
2. The body is sanctified, in so far as it is made the temple of the
Holy Spirit, and a member of Christ, 1 Cor. vi. 15, 19. And the
members thereof are changed in respect of their use, becoming in-
struments of righteousness employed for the Lord, Rom. vi. 13. In
respect of which the body is j)resented a holy sacrifice to God, to
serve and honour him with, whether by doing or suffering, Rom.
xii. 1.
But although the whole man is sanctified, yet no part of the man
is perfectly sanctified in this life. It is neither midnight to them
as with the unregenerate, nor mid-day as with the glorified, but
twilight, which is a mixture of darkness and light. Hence arises
the combat betwixt the flesh and Spirit, Gal. v. 17- Every grace
has a weed of the contrary corruption by the side of it, which occa-
sions this struggle, and imperfection in the best of their works.
SEVENTHLY, I am to shew the effect of sanctification. That
OP SANCTIPICATION. 659
is holiness. The fruit of this work of the Spirit is hahitnal holi-
ness, that is, an habitual aversion of the soul to evil, and inclina-
tion to good ; and actual holiness in all manner of life and conver-
sation, in good works, which have Grod's word for their rule, his
glory for their end, and are done in faith. Both which we have,
Psal. xlv. 13. ' The King's daughter is all glorious within ; her
clothing is of wrought gold.'
EIGHTHLY, I proceed to shew how sanctification is carried on.
Now, though sanctification must needs be begun in an instant, yet it
is not a simple act, but a work carried on by degrees, to which
many actions (and these repeated) of the Holy Spirit do concur.
The believer not being perfectly renewed at first, the renovation is
carried on by degrees, and the Spirit is at that work still, so as not
to give it over till it be perfected, though there be many interrup-
tions of it. And,
1. The Spirit implants grace in the soul, sows the heavenly seed
there, framing the heart anew, giving it a new power, and a new
set, towards Grod and his law ; and putting in new motions and in-
clinations in the soul, agreeable to the holy law, and contrary to
the natural sinful ones, Heb. viii. 10. So that the soul is inclined
to love what before it loathed, and to loath what before it loved.
2. He preserves the grace implanted, 1 Pet. i. 5. Though it is
lodged in the same heart with an ill neighbour, the remains of natu-
ral corruption ; yet he keeps it that it do not die out, he preserves
it as a spark of fire in the midst of the ocean.
3. He excites it and quickens it, to pursue and resist the flesh,
Phil. ii. 13. Grace sometimes may fall so very low in the soul,
that it becomes like a spark hid under the ashes : yet the sanctify-
ing Spirit blows it up again into a flame. Cant. iv. 16. As the tree
in the winter divested of its leaves and verdure, when the warm sun
returns in the spring, the sap driven to the root returns, and is dif-
fused through the whole.
4. He strengthens it by new supplies, Isa. xl. ult. so as the soul
is enabled more and more to hold on the battle, and gets victories
of the enemy, 2 Cor. xii. 9, 10. For grace is a child of heaven,
which has all its nourishment and strength from the same Spirit
that gave it life.
5. Lastly, At death, but not till then, he perfects it, Heb. xii. 23.
Then the new man is brought to its perfect stature, Eph. iv. 13.
Often may the soul be ready to say. One day I will perish by the
hand of such a lust. But the Spirit of God will perfect the work he
has begun. And when the walls of the leprous house are taken
down, the leprosy shall be quite removed. From what has been
said, we may infer,
660 OF SANCTIFICATIOJr.
Inf. 1. The case of unsanctifted sinners is a w^retched case; they
are lying with the lost world, in their filthiness, utterly unfit to
serve God acceptably, or to have communion with him here or here-
after. For they are not sanctified, not separated, purified, nor pre-
pared for God's service.
2. Behold the beauty of holiness, and fall in love with it, and
labour to attain it. The holy man is more excellent than his neigh-
bour, as set apart for God : ' Israel shall dwell alone, and shall not
be reckoned among the nations,' because they are a holy people. It
is the purity of the soul, God's image drawn on the man, it is a
newness of nature from heaven, and like heaven. By it a man is a
vessel fit for the Master's use, honourably employed now, and most
honourably hereafter.
3. See the way how ye may be made holy. The fire from your
own hearth will not purge you ; faithless vows, resolutions, and en-
deavours, will not do it, Isa. 1. ult. The Spirit of the Lord can only
perform the work. 0 ! cry for the Spirit, wait on in ordinances for
the blowing of the Spirit. Come to Christ by faith, that ye may
partake of his Spirit.
4. Sanctification is not the work of a day, but a work that must
be in a continual progress. Sit not down on any measure of grace
attained. They that are converted still need the Spirit for their
sanctification. Beware of grieving the Spirit, lest the work be in-
terrupted. Make no truce with the enemy, but pursue the lusts of
the body of sin vigorously.
5. Lastly, See here that there are none so unholy, but they may
be made holy. It is a work of grace, and grace is powerful to over-
come the strongest lusts. It is a work of free grace, and therefore
no vileness nor unworthiness of the creature, that is content to be
made holy, can hinder it. This may lay the pride of some, who
think they deserve grace, and whose hearts fret against the Lord,
if grace be not given them in an hour of temptation. Man's heart
perverteth his way, and fretteth against the Lord. And this may
encourage those who think the Lord will never look on them.
LASTLY, Let us consider the means of sanctification. — The out-
ward means that the Spirit makes use of in this work, and which
have all their efficacy from him, are,
1. Ordinances, public, private, and secret, Isa. xii. 3. especially
the word, and sacraments thereto appended, Eph. v. 26. And they
that would be holy must use these means of sanctification, whereby
the Spirit begins and carries on the work.
2. Providences ; smiling and favourable dispensations have a
tendency that way, Rom. ii. 4. but especially afflictions are means
OP SANCTIFICATIOJf. 661
which the Spirit makes use of for this end, Isa. xxvii. 9. ' By this
shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged, and this is all the fruit to
take away his sin.'
I shall now shut up this subject with a few inferences, besides
those I drew under the former heads.
Inf. 1. Those who are unrenewed are unsanctified. Where there
is no change of heart and life, there is no grace, 2 Cor. v. 17. Ah !
liow many live as they were born, and are like to die as they live ?
They have no changes, but from evil to evil : no change from sin to
holiness, and yet are unconcerned with their unrenewed state, sleep-
ing until they sleep the sleep of death.
2. A partial change is not sanctification. Those who are changed,
but not in the whole man, are not truly sanctified, but are yet in
their natural pollution. Sanctification is not a new head full of
knowledge, with the old heart and life ; nor is it a new life, with
the old heart and nature. But it is a change that goes through the
whole soul and body, which must needs be followed with a new life,
2 Cor. V. 17.
3. True sanctification puts work into the hand of the sanctified,
that will occupy them while they live. Dying to sin, and living to
righteousness, are works that will fill up every minute we have in
the world.
4. Let none be so foolish as to sit down contented without sancti-
fication, but study holiness as ever ye would see heaven. "We want
a title to heaven, we must get that in justification and adoption : we
want a meetness for heaven, and we must get that in sanctification.
The sanctified are elected, and shall be glorified, 1 Pet. i. 1, 2, 4.
And they that live and die unsanctified, shall never see heaven,
Heb. xii. 14. ' For without holiness no man shall see the Lord.'
5. Lastly, As ever ye would be holy, attend and improve the
means of grace. Let not your afflictions drive you from God,
neither be stupid under them, but fall in with the design of provi-
dence in them, for your sanctification.
END OF VOLUME I.
PttlNTED BY
OEORttE AND ROBERT KING,
28, ST. NICHOLAS STREET, ABERDEEN.
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